Familial Obligations
by KittyGems
Summary: Snatcher has been living and ruling in Subcon Forest for many years, stealing souls and commanding his minions. Life has been peaceful, for as much as a soul sucking demon can be at peace. That is until he finds a purple top hat... and a baby. Becoming a very reluctant foster father, he learns something of compassion and... ugh, disgusting, love?
1. Found

**New story whoop! If you couldn't gather, this is about Snatcher finding Hat Kid as a baby and raising her as his own. Takes place pre-game, game, and post-game.**

 **Poured a lot of love into this one. Been working on it for two months!**

 **Shoutout to my discord friends for helping me make this happen. Shout out to Mizu in particular for the title suggestion!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Snatcher was always a busy man… ghost. Steal someone's soul, making sure the Subconites are staying on task, making sure the haunted outhouse is kept at bay for as long as possible. Keep the well from drying up or being blocked. Ecetera.

Leaves were softly drifting down from the trees, being a particularly lukewarm day. Snatcher was patrolling the Subcon, making sure those pesky fire spirits weren't doing that stupid bonfire dance. Or there were any intruders; dealing with intruders was always his favorite. Taking souls was a fun hobby to him. As well as a delectable snack, depending on his mood.

He senses something alive nearby, but non-moving. Leaves rustled, some crunching underfoot far off. A menacing smirk grew on his face; looks like a new victim had happened to wander into his forest. It would be a matter of time before they tripped up one of his traps!

It was slightly dewy that morning as well, a milky white fog covering the ground. Snatcher always particularly liked these mornings, as it made the atmosphere more tense and creepy. While he did like collecting souls, it did get annoying once in awhile if there was a huge influx of intruders. So he let the forest sometimes do the talking of keeping out unwanted visitors.

The lifeform was growing nearer as he traveled farther. The soul was still in one place, he found. Were they sitting? Or napping?

Even better. Maybe he could make them sign a contract.

He stopped, a confused frown making his face fall. A purple top hat with a yellow ribbon lay, but according to his intuition this is where the soul was. Was the Subconites pulling a prank on him? That happened more than he liked to admit.

He slowly picked up the top hat, only to drop it not a second later.

His eyes stared wide, a shocked look on his face.

A child. No, a baby. A breathing, living, definitely-not-dead baby. She didn't look quite developed, at a glance she didn't look any older than about ten months, maybe less. She had a head full of brown hair, a purple and yellow pacifier in her mouth. She was quite chubby, but then again when was a baby not?

But that meant she was well taken care of. It's possible her parents left her like this so they could do something else while not putting her in harm's way. But then again, all she was wearing was a diaper. For a dewy and on the colder side morning like this, he would've at least expected a onesie.

Ah, no matter. Her parents would come back eventually. Being quiet so as to not disturb her, he lied the top hat on her once more. He made sure she could breathe, and left. Hey, for someone evil, he wasn't one to hurt children. Well… at least not infants. First off, even if he was that heartless it'd be no fun. Second off, well, he always had a hidden soft spot for the tykes.

* * *

 _Crash_

Snatcher looked up from his book. He was used to them now, thunderstorms that ravished the forest. It was more on occasion, but they weren't rare. Heck, he usually uses this to his advantage when he finds an unfortunate soul so he could intimidate them further. He watched as lightning crackled and another thunder clap boomed.

Suddenly the kid came to mind, and at first he would've just shrugged it off. But something just felt so… off. With a sigh, he stood, dog earring the page. Might as well just make sure; it's not like he could get hurt.

Rain pelted at his form, not that he really minded. He didn't often go out in rain storms like these, but they didn't bother him too much.

Unfortunately for him, the top hat was there. Beyond the claps of thunder, he could hear her crying and wailing. Deep down, he felt pity for the little girl. The claps of thunder made her cry even louder. He stood for a moment, admittedly a little hesitant.

He had no idea how to take care of a child! What if her parents came back? Should he just move her under a bush? But the lightning...

He removed the top hat, sheltering her with his body as he picked her up with his arm. He couldn't just leave her out here, especially with no other humans in sight. When he did find them, however, they weren't gonna get off so easy. The pity mixed with boiling rage; who would do something so appalling, so abysmal to a child?! They could have at least left her with a babysitter or something!

"Come on, I got you Kid," He mumbles, making sure she was under his neck. He placed the top hat on his head, and started traveling.

He wasn't gonna leave her out here alone.


	2. Long Job

**New chapter! Won't be another until next week, however.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Once Snatcher reached his tree home, he started making a sort of make-shift bed out of a blanket and his chair. Before they had even reached his home, the rain had calmed to a drizzle. Which Snatcher was thankful for, he didn't need the river to overflow.

The child had also fallen asleep on the way. It amused him; it seemed like rain without the show calmed her. It relieved him, but he knew it wouldn't be long until she cried again. But for more of a hunger or changing reason. The latter of which he dreaded, but who didn't honestly.

But he was thinking ahead of himself. He still thought the parents were just doing something in the meanwhile. She must be a child of the mafia or something; there wasn't really any other humans otherwise. And, well, Snatcher wasn't a big fan of the mafia.

That might make taking their souls much more fun. Yes, that would amuse him greatly. Of course, he wouldn't eat the souls. As unfortunate as that revelation was, he couldn't just kill a kid's parents. But he would make sure to mess with the next person who trespassed on his property. Ah yes, that suited this situation. And maybe make the kid's parents sign a contract or two. He did want someone to get rid of that pesky haunted outhouse after all. Or throw some water on those annoying fire spirits.

He settled the kid down into the chair, making sure she wouldn't fall off. He took off the top hat, placing it in his closet. He then stepped outside, and snapped his fingers. Immediately, a Subconite was at his side.

"Yeah, boss?" he asked.

"I found a baby by the river. Since it is still day time outside of the Subcon, I want you to go out and get some supplies." Snatcher produced a list and gave it to his minion. "After you do, tell the others to keep an eye out for any man or woman missing a daughter. I want this baby out of my forest."

The minion cocked his head, most likely in confusion, before nodding.

"Yes, boss!" The Subconite saluted and skittered off. Snatcher sighed, going back inside his home. The child was still asleep, much to his relief. She actually seemed… quite peaceful, honestly. If it wasn't for the fact that he could still feel her soul and she was breathing and occasionally moving, he probably would've thought she was dead.

"You were really tired, huh, kid?" he mutters. Opening the closet once more, he pulled a book out from the closet. Faust sprawled out in black letters on the worn spine, some of the pages torn. He sat down on the footrest, opening the book and starting to read from where he left off. Even after reading this many times before he still adored this book.

He glanced up awhile later, then looked back at his book. Only to take a double take.

The kid was awake.

Her turquoise eyes stared at him curiously, and for a moment he thought she'd cry. Since she was a little older, he expected her to realize that no, he was not human. Or anyone familiar, for that matter. But no.

A little giggle escaped her lips, her hands reaching out to his face. Snatcher flinched back the moment her hands touched his face. But that did not deter the toddler. She pushed on her little hands, sitting up. Snatcher was a little surprised, but an amused smile reached him.

"Awake, kiddo?"

She giggled again, babbling behind her pacifier. He had no idea how she could be so calm, happy even to see him. He was scary Snatcher! Stealer of souls!

"Boss! I'm back!" The Subconite called.

"Leave it by the door."

The Subconite did so, and then ran off to tell the others like Snatcher ordered. Snatcher began to stand, only for the kid to try to get off the chair. She slipped off, and with quick reflexes Snatcher caught her under the arms.

"Hey, stay here. The last thing I need is for you to get hurt," Snatcher huffs. He placed her back down on the chair, and then went over to the bag. 'It's a good thing I've babysitted before.'

A long time ago, of course.

The kid watched with interest, her head tilting as she watched him. Snatcher pulled out a milk carton, pouring some into a sippy cup.

"I don't need you dying, and hopefully your parents already switched you to different food, so, are you hungry?" Snatcher asked. The kid reached out her hands, her pacifier slipping. She made little fussy sounds, and Snatcher headed over. Instead of grabbing the cup, however, she instead grabbed at his neck tufts.

The kid laughed cheerfully, Snatcher wincing.

"Haha, glad you find this amusing, kid," He sarcastically remarked. She eventually let go, taking the cup into her hands. He knew he just had to be patient with her, she was just a toddler.

Even if it was annoying.

She took her pacifier out of her mouth, and began to drink from the cup. Satisfied with this, Snatcher picked his book back up and began to read once more on the foot rest. He glanced back at her once in awhile, seeing her look around the room or drinking from the cup. It was actually quite peaceful.

Until, inevitably, she threw the cup. And, he wasn't looking at this moment. The cup hit the back of his head, and he sighed.

This was going to be a long job.


	3. Bonding and Bathing

**New chapter whoop!**

* * *

For the next couple of days they fell into a sort of routine. The kid, which Snatcher dubbed Hat Kid, would wake up at about nine. He would give her breakfast after changing her, he'd give her something to play around with, after a small lunch he'd put her back to bed. After that he'd have a Subconite watch over her, and he'd go out on patrol. And yes, one weary Mafioso had wandered into his forest.

And yes, he enjoyed making the Mafioso do things for him only to take his soul in the end. He didn't enjoy Mafioso souls that well, but it was better than nothing.

He'd also keep an eye out for people with brown hair or turquoise eyes, or both. But unfortunate for him, no one like that wandered in. Only Mafioso and occasionally a bird or two. But he wasn't going to give up so easily; Snatcher is too stubborn for that.

After he got home, Hat Kid would be awake by then. She would make fussy noises, and at this point in time he'd either change her or give her dinner, or both. After that he'd read a book and by the time he was done she was fast asleep.

He'd be lying if he said the kid wasn't growing on him, but only a little bit. She wasn't too annoying, though was a tiny bit clingy. She didn't throw many tantrums and actually usually just watches him read the book or play with a slice of bark Snatcher got for her. She never really cried either, just got really fussy. But if she was gonna stay any longer, he might as well get a crib soon. He was getting a little upset that he couldn't sit in his favorite chair.

Of course, he was sure she wasn't sitting there all the time. He never knows what the Subconite does with her. And since she usually sleeps for an hour or two, and he's out for longer than that, who knows.

In the middle of a page turn, he suddenly heard the kid cry out. Last time he checked, she was fast asleep!

He turned back over to her, seeing her moving frantically in her sleep. Without much thought, he pulled her into his arms. Almost immediately, her cries burned down to tiny whimpers. Snatcher pulled himself onto his chair, placing his book in his lap. He sighed, cradling her as he began to read again. Hat Kid moved again before opening her eyes, which were wet with tears.

"You alright, kiddo?" he asked after a moment of silence. She reached out with her hands, and for a moment he thought she'd pull on his neck tufts again. But she kept waving her arms around, babbling. Snatcher gave a weak smile, going to tuck the blanket more up to her chin. "Come on, go back to sleep. You aren't supposed to be up at this hour." He glanced at the clock; three am. He glanced back down.

He froze, watching as her tiny fingers clasped around his third finger. She went back to sleep after that.

'Dammit.'

He gently started to pull away, but Hat Kid's grip tightened considerably. Snatcher slouched in his chair, accepting this fate for now.

'At least she's asleep.'

His wispy tail relaxed at the side of the chair, and the only sounds were the flipping of pages and the clock chiming.

He didn't even realize he fell asleep until he woke up later that day. The book had flipped off his lap in the middle of his doze, the pages half crumpled against the floor.

Snatcher stood, picking up the book and wiping off invisible dirt. He glared at the crumpled pages before making them straight and closing the book, grumbling.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Kid?!" The book clattered to the floor again. Snatcher quickly stuck his head out of his tree home, looking frantically. The last thing he needed was a child on the loose in his forest!

...Especially with Dwellers and their cherry bombs…

Suddenly the franticness became more apparent as he ducked into a shadow.

"Did her parents just… take her or something?" the worry in his tone, which was rare for him, was very clear.

Giggling. He knew that giggling.

Snatcher glared, coming out of the shadow in front of the little girl. Hat Kid was playing in some mud, a mischievous grin on her face. Snatcher facepalmed before bending down to her level.

"First you keep throwing your cup at my head, now you decide to play in the mud," He growled. The toddler just kept smiling, reaching out with her muddy hands. "Oh no, you aren't touching me with your dirty hands."

He picked her up, going into a line of shadow. After coming out of the other side, he went down his little pond around his home. Making sure the water wasn't terrible, he settled her down into it.

"Kid, you're lucky you aren't an adult," He huffs, taking off her diaper. She babbles, splashing her hands around in the water as he cleans her to the best of his ability. Soon she's clean, and he changes her after drying her off. He frowns, realizing he didn't have suitable clothes for her. "Well, at least the Subconites are out on their own patrol."

He knew they wouldn't let him live it down if they caught him sewing. And that is honestly the last thing he needed.

Picking her back up, he brought her back inside his home. He opened his closet after putting her back down on the red chair, pulling out a sewing kit and cloth. He usually used it for hats, but, he didn't want the kid to catch a cold.

This would definitely take a while.


	4. One Week

**Two chapters in a row since the last is so short!**

* * *

Snatcher carefully pulled a choppy shawl onto Hat Kid, making sure it fit snuggly. It was two days after the bathing incident, and he was admittedly still a little angry over it. But hey, she's just a toddler. After some needle pricks and screw ups, he had made her clothing. A dark blue shawl that sort of resembled the ponchos his Subconites wore, and a purple onesie. Thank the gods for his convenient book collection of many different subjects.

"There. Now you won't be cold all the time, aye kid?" Hat Kid babbled, clapping her hands. "Good."

He's also having some of his Subconites build the crib, as he thought of. Nothing extravagant, just something better than the chair. Otherwise, she'd either sleep by herself or be fussy until Snatcher held her in his chair. Sometimes he would fall asleep himself, but not for very long. The routine also stayed the same otherwise, only he also added bathing to the list.

It had been a little over a week now since he first found her.

No sign of any relatives at all. But the kid didn't seem to care, in fact, she was a bit clingy to Snatcher. He wasn't sure if that was good… or bad. The more she stayed, admittedly the more she had grown on him. Don't get him wrong, he still wanted her straight out of his forest. But he knew if he just gave up and gave her to an orphanage or whatever, that wouldn't bode over well. So, through his stubborn persistence, he kept on taking care of her.

"You gonna be good today, kid?" he asked, and she replied in babble. "Of course. Alright, I'm leaving."

A Subconite took his place as Snatcher ducked into a shadow, disappearing. The Subconite took out a key ring, giving it to the small girl.

"You've really been softening up Boss considerably," The Subconite chuckled, sitting down beside her. Hat Kid babbled in reply, a big smile on her face. He shook his head. "Nope, hasn't stopped stealing souls. But that's fine, I don't think he could even if he wanted to."

A sly idea reached the Subconite's mind, and grinned.

"You know kid, we could plan something in secret together. You're pretty close to saying your first words, right kid?"

Hat Kid babbled in reply, shaking the key ring. The keys jangled together, making the Subconite nod.

"We get you to say something along the lines of papa for your first words, and give Boss the shock of his life! We have a deal?"

Hat Kid babbled again, laughing as she reached her hands out.

"Good. Let's get started, yeah?"

For the next hour, the Subconite tried to train Hat Kid to say some variation of papa. It came up with nothing, unfortunately. Thus, after he gave her lunch, he let her take her afternoon nap.

"No sight of her parents or any relatives." Snatcher came back in, crossing his arms. The Subconite shushed him, pointing to the asleep child. They went outside of the home, the Subconite standing on the sprawling root of the tree.

"Boss, are you sure her parents will come back for her? It's been over a week. The only people we've had are mafia or birds."

"Who would just abandon a child in my forest at one years old? It's clear they wanted to keep her if they raised her for a year," Snatcher replied, clearly frustrated.

"It's possible they just raised her until they could get rid of her. Mafia aren't always the friendliest," The minion pointed out.

"They would've dropped her at an orphanage. Not here," Snatcher deadpanned.

The Subconite scratched the top of his head.

"I'm not sure, Boss." He shrugged. Snatcher frowned. "Before I go out, the crib should be done by tomorrow. We just need to get a mattress."

"Good. Now go." Snatcher waved him off. The minion saluted before wandering off, going back to his usual post.

Snatcher sighed, heading back inside his home. Hat Kid was now awake, and the moment she saw him she quickly got fussy, holding out her hands. She flexed her fingers, making little noises. Snatcher rolled his eyes and picked her up, sitting down on his chair.

"Were you good for him?" he asked, picking up his book from nearby boxes. Hat Kid babbled in reply, a big smile on her face. Snatcher nodded, opening his book. "That's good. I don't want you being rude to my Subconites."

Hat Kid almost seemed to nod, snuggling into his chest. Snatcher huffed, but not wanting to disturb the peace, he went on with reading. This went on for a bit, Hat Kid watching as he turned the pages and read. Once more, the only sounds were the clock chiming and the pages ruffling. Occasionally, a cricket or far away cherry bomb exploding also rang out.

That's when he felt it. The thrum of a soul, far away but still in his forest.

"Alright kid, stay here. I'll be back soon." Snatcher put her down on the chair, making her fussy. "No, no, don't. I gotta deal with something. I'll be back."

The same Subconite entered as Snatcher ducked into a shadow. Hat Kid whined, her eyes becoming wet again. The minion began to fret, pulling out the keys.

"It's alright, kid! The Boss will be back soon, really!"

But for the first time since the night Snatcher found her, Hat Kid began to cry. Big tears fell down her cheeks as she wailed.

"Oh come on, Boss…" He groaned, picking her up. He tried soothing her, but she just kept on crying. He tried giving her her pacifier, but that only succeeding in the binky getting dirty from falling on the floor. "It's alright, it's alright. He'll be back."

Snatcher, on the other hand, was having a grand ol' time. A mafia, once again. Pleading for his life, bargaining, etc etc. But of course, Snatcher was having none of it. A contract was signed for the mafioso to clean up the well. And of course, to make sure he did it, Snatcher collected his soul. He "promised" to give it back, but ooh that mafioso would be dead in an instant thanks to a blast. It would make it so much more fun to watch him squirm for a bit, however.

Soul in hand, he traveled back to his home. Before he could enter, he froze. Hat Kid was crying her heart out, squirming in his minion's arms. He went inside, and Hat Kid became ten times more fussy as she spotted him.

"Please take her, Boss. I think she has abandonment issues."

Snatcher took her into his hands, and quickly her cries died down to little whimpers.

"She's fine when I leave midday."

"She's used to that. You leaving suddenly meant to her that you were ditching her," He explained.

Yikes. That… actually hurt a little, now that he thought about it a bit. No, he wasn't getting attached to her! Not at all. But he didn't exactly want to be the reason a baby was crying unless on purpose. Not that he scared tiny children, in any case. At least, not often.

"She's all yours, Boss." The Subconite left. Snatcher sighed heavily, sitting back down in his chair.

"You seriously thought I'd ditch you, kid? Until I find your parents, that isn't happening."

And Snatcher wasn't one for lying to a small child.


	5. Reading to sleep

**Been busy this week :p. But hey, a new update!**

* * *

Once again it was a couple more days later. Hat Kid now had her own crib, but that didn't stop her from wanting to stay in Snatcher's arms. Which annoyed him, to say the least. But, whatever to keep the peace. He didn't want her crying again.

Update on the mafioso, yes, he killed him in one strike. And, yes, his soul was satisfying for the time being.

Today during the afternoon, Snatcher was spending his time searching for clues around the area he found her. He thought that if he possibly found some sort of evidence, it could narrow down the search. It had almost been two weeks now since he found her.

Some sort of luck seemed to be on his side in particular.

"What…?" a black cloth hanged off a branch of a bush, and he pulled it off. It felt like a mix of velvet and some sort of stretchy material. He held it up to his face, analyzing it. He flipped it over in his hand, a white corner sticking out of it. He pulled on it, revealing a slip of paper.

All it read was 'I'm sorry, little one'.

Sorry?... Sorry?!

He scowled, the paper and cloth sparking blue. A fire ignited, burning both materials to ash. It then dawned on him.

"I'm sorry." That wasn't a promise for a comeback. That wasn't a promise to bring her home.

That was an apology for leaving her. Meaning, they wouldn't come back. Meaning…

No, no. That wasn't true. Must be a coincidence. He didn't see the material here before. It had to have been planted by some pranksters.

Snatcher dusted off his hands, glowering. Who would abandon their one year old in a forest like this? If they didn't want her, they would've abandoned her earlier.

A thrum of a soul again. It had just entered his forest at the east.

Yes, that's who he'd take his anger and frustration off on.

* * *

"Come on, kid. I know you can do it."

The Subconite dangled the keys in front of Hat Kid, trying his best to get her to say her first words. Or at the very least, get close to it. But she kept babbling, though was trying her best to say what he was. It made the minion happy; she was trying!

"It's easy, kid! 'Papa'!"

Her babble began to break, and she made sounds that sounded like 'papa'. Wasn't quite close, however. But it was better than last week.

The rustle of leaves announced Snatcher's presence.

"I think your papa is back," The Subconite picked Hat Kid up, the latter of which got a little fussy once she spotted Snatcher.

"This is getting quite frustrating," Snatcher groaned, soul in hand.

"Another intruder, Boss?"

"Yes. I took their soul; I have no contracts for now, so I tossed his body into fire."

The Subconite nodded, Hat Kid waving her arms around to try to get to Snatcher. The former handed her off to the latter, and she hugged him around the neck. Or, well, at the best she could. Snatcher chuckled softly, a grin making it's way on the Subconite's face due to this.

"I'll be off, boss!" The minion saluted before leaving. Hat Kid kept on babbling happily, seemingly explaining her day as Snatcher pulled a book out of his closet.

"That's good," Snatcher replied, going along with her babbling. Hat Kid stopped, seeing the top hat. She reached out to it, and Snatcher grabbed it. "I think it's too big to fit on you. But.." Snatcher placed it on his head, making Hat Kid giggle, elated.

Snatcher then sat down in his chair, Hat Kid sitting on his lap. He began to read to himself, the clock chiming.

Hat Kid patted at the pages, looking up at him.

"You… want me to read to you?"

Hat Kid grinned behind her pacifier, and Snatcher sighed.

"Alright. But I dunno how you'll like it."

He began to read to her, a bit thankful he had chosen a book a little less dark. But I mean, it was still 1000 Ghost Stories. Not quite something you'd read a child for bedtime but Hat Kid didn't seem to mind it at all. In fact, she seemed happy and even excited to be listening. Snatcher even gets a little into it, wiggling his fingers every time something creepy happened.

That only made Hat Kid clap happily, snuggling deeper into his chest. Snatcher kept going, up until he had read at least five different stories. Hat Kid was a bit sleepy, but she was still looking at the pages in awe. She might not be able to talk yet, but she enjoyed every word. She was like a puppy who found a rubber ball.

"Alright, time for dinner and then we'll get you to bed."

Hat Kid whined, wanting to hear more from the book. Snatcher shook his head.

"Maybe one more story before bed. But for now." He picked her up, setting her down on the chair. He took her pacifier out of her mouth, and went out to the ice patches that grew nearby.

Soon, after dinner and changing her, he set her down into her crib. Hat Kid got a little fussy, standing at the end of it where his chair was.

"Oh, come on kid. I did promise another story, but you gotta stay in your crib," Snatcher explained stubbornly. Hat Kid whined, and his eyes softened. "Fine, fine. But you'll have to go back into it after we're done."

He pulled her onto his lap, opening the book again. She leaned back into him again, listening quietly.

"This one is my favorite. Everyone dies in the end," Snatcher explained. He then began to read, a tired smile on Hat Kid's face. Soon, after the story was done, she was fast asleep. He gingerly closed the book, placing it on the nearby boxes. Before he could stand, she had grabbed his finger again.

"You gotta stop this kid…" He mumbled, gently settling her down into her crib. Hat Kid made a little sound, snuggling into the blanket he provided. Snatcher closed his eyes, turning away from her. He was just caring for her for the sake of caring for her.

He couldn't get attached. Even if he did, her parents would be back to get her. That note had to be a lie. They had to have loved and cared for her. Those were things he couldn't really give. He was Snatcher the Soul Stealer. Maker of contracts and basically the next boogeyman. A former shell of what he once was.

But that nagging feeling never ceased.

* * *

 **Happy New Years!**


	6. Old friends and first words

**Enjoy this one! This is where the human stuff starts as well, sorry if it's a little strange or jarring. But its more occasionally than all the time, so hopefully it isn't too weird!**

* * *

A couple more days past, and now it was three weeks. Snatcher's stubbornness was starting to wear off, doubt crossing his mind. Was the Subconite really telling the truth? Would…

Would her parents seriously never return for her?

A frown etched on his face, and his boisterous storytelling faded. Hat Kid looked up at him, frowning. It was almost like she could feel his depressed mood.

"What? I'm alright, kid. Just lost breath. Don't worry." He ruffled her hair. Hat Kid closed her eyes, a smile appearing on her face. Snatcher smiled, picking her up. "Alright, it's time for bed. I said one more story."

Hat Kid huffed, but let herself be placed down into the crib. She fell asleep not too long after. After summoning a Subconite to watch over her, he went into a shadow. Appearing once more at where he found her, he stared at the spot. The grass was growing there, but if you looked you could see an outline of where the hat once was. A prominent frown was on his face, and he leaned down to get a closer look.

"If they really aren't coming back…" Snatcher stood tall again, shaking his head. "Two more days."

Snatcher went into another shadow, and traveled to the edge of his forest. The moon was high in the sky, it's light illuminating his face more. Using this to his advantage, he stepped out into the light. The moment he did, he had shapeshifted into a form that was similar but not exactly the same as his old human self.

He actually looked quite fancy, for a soul sucking demon. A freshly pressed suit, a lovely face, even with the fangs and bright yellow eyes. His hair was long like his neck tufts, and his skin was a light purple color.

He rarely used this form, however. Only to go into town to buy more books. And well, wouldn't you have guessed it!

He was in town buying books.

Where did he keep these books, you may wonder. Well, when you have a closet that is basically a void at this point…

Yeah, yeah you get the point he's a bookworm.

The one time where he didn't have to worry about intruders or mysteriously disappearing parents. Wasn't a long time, but it was still quite relaxing.

But he also had a second purpose for tonight. As much as he believed her parents would come back last minute, just in case, he decided to get Hat Kid some books. As much as he enjoyed reading her ghost stories and horror novels, she kinda also needed toddler books. Parenting books wouldn't hurt either.

"Hello, Luke," The bookstore owner greeted. He was an old toucan, with tiny circle glasses and a withered yet friendly smile. If there was any people who Snatcher was to refrain to steal the souls from, it was him and his family.

Snatcher nodded in greeting. He used an old nickname, as he didn't want the old man to be suspicious.

"What brings you here?" he asked, dog earring a book he was reading himself.

"I'm taking care of a child," Snatcher answered, picking out a book for himself before scanning for more child books.

"A child? Has the ever-so cold Luke become a father?"

Snatcher nearly dropped his book, but his fumbling hands managed to catch it. The old toucan laughed merrily.

"Me? A father? No, no. She's… the daughter of a friend," Snatcher lied, pulling out a parenting book.

"Uh-huh. A friend… So, daughter? What's her name?"

"Hattie." It was a half lie. He had been calling her Hat Kid this whole time, but he doubted Hat Kid would persuade the old bird that she wasn't his. Not that she was!

He groaned mentally.

"Hattie? How adorable."

Snatcher rolled his eyes, pulling out two children's books. He strolled over to the counter, where the old bird began to scan them.

"How long is she staying with you?"

"Only a couple more days. My friend travels a lot for her job."

"Is she-"

"No! I'm not seeing anyone right now."

"Alright, alright. I shouldn't have pried."

The bookstore became quiet again, and once it was done Snatcher handed him some pons.

"I'll see you next week."

"Yes. And, Luke?"

Snatcher turned his head to him.

"Good luck."

* * *

When he had gotten back, Hat Kid was awake, the Subconite playing with her. He formed back into his phantom form, books still in hand.

"Welcome home, boss!" The Subconite greeted, picking up Hat Kid.

"Still no sign of the kid's parents," Snatcher sighed, placing the books in the closet. Hat Kid babbled, reaching out to him. She must have just woken up, as she wasn't distraught like she had been. "She's getting really talkative, huh?"

"Yeah! I think she might say her first words soon!"

Snatcher scoffed, taking her into his arms.

"I doubt it. Also, don't get too attached to her."

"Right, boss," The Subconite chuckled. After he left, Snatcher grabbed one of the toddler books.

"Alright kiddo, time to read you back to sleep," Snatcher said, sitting down in his chair. Hat Kid lied down in his arms, turning her head to the book's pictures. He began to read to her, pointing out each animal and kept a gentle voice. Soon enough, Hat Kid was getting sleepy once more.

Snatcher placed the book on the boxes once finished, Hat Kid drifting in and out of sleep.

That's when it happened.

She reached out her hand, and for a second Snatcher thought she'd just pull on his neck tufts again. But instead, she made a grabbing motion, but grabbed nothing.

"Pa-Papa!"

It was an immediate reaction, and since he was so used to it, his hand moved to hers. Her little hand gripped his finger again, and before he could think, he already blurted out what he thought.

"Don't worry, kiddo. Papa will keep you safe from night terrors."

Hat Kid finally fell asleep, but it had already been done. It took almost a minute for Snatcher to realize what he said.

"Wait, no, I couldn't have-" He cursed under his breath, his eyes softening. He hated to admit it, but he loved it. When he used to be an actual human, he had wanted to be a dad. Her saying that, to him especially, welled up an emotion inside that he hadn't felt in a long time.

He pushed it down, standing and putting her into her crib. He tucked her in, watching her from above. His hands gripped the side of the crib, his eyes closing again.

Love. That's what he had felt. In these three weeks, she had him. In these last hundred years, he couldn't believe it. But he knew he couldn't keep it inside forever. Her parents could still be out there...

Love.

* * *

 **My hc is that Snatcher's real name is Lucas lmao. (Haha, his va is named Luke, so long name Lucas). But I mean if I'm proven wrong I'll gladly go back in and change it!**  
 **I especially loved writing this chapter for the little bit at the end. Her first word~**


	7. Her Name and Cooking Books

**Whoops posted the wrong chapter haha!**

 **Might as well post two chapters anyway**

* * *

The two days had passed rather quickly, and Snatcher was faced with the reality.

The kid's parents were never coming back for her.

It had been almost a month since he had found her. And at this point, if her parents ever returned in the future, they were gonna be punished harshly. But, for now, he kept the mindset that they were never returning.

"Kid, if your parents aren't really coming back, then I'm gonna take care of you from here on out. I'm not… caretaker worthy, but I'm gonna try my best."

Hat Kid babbled in reply, reaching out to his face. He shook his head, though let her touch him. Might as well try to give her some sort of love, even if he hadn't given any in many years.

"Also, if you're really going to stay in my care, I can't keep on calling you Hat Kid."

He set her down on the floor, grabbing the parenting book. His hope was heard as he found a section on names. It wasn't an extensive list, but it was still a nice mix of rare and common names. He started flipping through as Hat Kid explored his home, hoisting herself up on the furniture occasionally.

 _'Annabelle? No, that's a mouth full. Bridgette? No, that was too common.'_

He looked over at the toddler, who looked back at him. A smile formed behind her pacifier.

 _'Hattie, I told him. Is there any names in here-'_

"Harriet?"

He had accidentally flipped to the H page, and read the first name. Hat Kid, or should I say Harriet, reacted immediately. Since she was looking at him when he called her that, she titled her head.

Yes, that suited her. It meant "rules the home", and one of the nicknames given were Hattie.

Harriet it was.

* * *

"Boss, you even named her?"

The Subconite had come for the afternoon shift, and the minion was shocked his leader went that far.

"I kinda had to. I can't keep on calling her Hat Kid."

A grin reached the Subconite's face, and he innocently put his hands behind his back.

"Boss, if you name something, or in this case a person, you know you get attached, right?"

"I'm not attached! Is it so wrong to give a child a name?"

The Subconite bit back a laugh, taking Harriet into his arms.

"I suppose not. Enjoy your patrol, boss."

Snatcher huffed, traversing out of his tree home. The Subconite laughed once he was out of earshot, placing the child down on the floor.

"You really have boss caught, don't you, Hattie?"

Harriet clapped her hands, babbling. The Subconite shook his head, holding out his hands.

"Now that you have spoken your first word, it's time to get you walking." He grabbed her hands into his, helping her stand. She wobbled a bit but stayed upright thanks to his help. "Let's give your papa another surprise, yeah, kid?"

Harriet giggled, like she was agreeing.

* * *

Later that night, Snatcher once again was back in town. But rather, in Mafia Town. Fading into shadow among the wall, he slipped on by the mafiosos. If the mafia weren't so stupid, they'd probably notice the shadow having outlines of eyes and teeth. But eh, too late for that.

Snatcher jumped up to the rafters of the mafia hangout, popping out of the wall onto the little room. His entrance was quite grandeur, to say the least.

Cooking Cat, or CC if informal, was a quite popular cooking show host. But thanks to his outward sources, he also found she stayed in the mafia hangout in the clouds half the time. The plump tabby cat was cooking away, the air smelling like crawfish.

"Yes?" her voice drawled, a clear southern accent covering her voice. She turned to him, her green eyes piercing as she skimmed him. "Oh? I've never seen you around, and by your unique appearance, I doubt you're one of those mafia folk." She pointed out, turning back around to cook the various seafood.

"You'd be correct, Ms. Cat."

"CC to you. What do you need?" she asked, mincing some vegetables.

"Well, I'm in quite the predicament."

"What for?"

"I… am taking care of a child long term. Due to this, I need to know how to cook, at least a little bit."

"Oh? Snatcher, stealer of souls, has a child? Interesting development."

Snatcher sputtered, and she lifted her knife to silence him, her back still to him.

"Honey, your bright yellow eyes and eloquent tone gave it away. Not to mention your purple skin and sharp fangs. Also, I saw your shadow when you were coming up here."

Snatcher grumbled. It wasn't like he had anything better. This is the human form his eldritch transformation came with. CC laughed, putting down the knife, turning to him once more.

"As long as you don't take my soul or make me sign any silly contract, maybe I can help you. How old are they?"

"About a year, give or take."

"A toddler? Interesting. A he or she?"

"She. Her name is Harriet."

"Harriet? How cute!" CC grinned. She opened a cabinet. "Since you like reading so much, how about you read this. I'll be down in Subcon in a couple days." She shoved a book into his hands. He looked down at it; a cooking book, what a shocker. "For now, keep feeding her what you have been. Since you're suggesting she's still alive, I'm impressed you know what to give her."

Snatcher shrugged. CC smiled, turning back to her cooking.

"For a soul-eating demon, if you're willing to learn how to cook for a little child, that means you care about her a lot."

"Well, I kinda have to. It would be rude of me otherwise."

CC snorted.

"Right. Now go along. I don't want any of those mafia finding this nook."

Snatcher faded back into the wall, sliding along as a shadow once more. CC watched, an interested gleam in her eyes.

"I wasn't saying you care in the sense you care because she's a child…" She hummed to herself. "She could survive off of the fruits and vegetables I'm sure he's giving her. But the fact he's willing to learn how to cook… How adorable."

CC went back to cooking before the water overboiled.

* * *

Snatcher reached his home, once again in his phantom form. The Subconite was sitting on the footrest, watching over her.

"Welcome home, boss! I'll be off," He greeted, waving. He then left, passing by Snatcher. Snatcher sat down, opening the cook book.

After a while, his attention turned to Harriet. She was standing in her crib, making little fussy noises.

"Why do you keep on waking up at this time? You know it's witching hour, right?" he joked. "Oh, this? It's boring, don't worry about it."

She looked at him with her big turquoise eyes, and he sighed.

"Fine, fine. I'll read you another story. But only so you can fall asleep."

He picked her up, settling her down on his lap. She beamed, Snatcher switching out the cooking book for the 1000 Ghost Stories collection. She loved it a lot, and it was more of a breeze to read than the silly toddler books. He began to read her a story, once again becoming an entertaining storyteller as he wiggled his fingers and even did a little bit of voice work.

Soon one story turned to three, and the clock chimed for four o'clock.

"Alright, time for you to sleep."

She was fighting off sleep, it was quite obvious in her slow blinking and heavy head tilt. He put her back into her crib, where she quickly fell asleep.

Snatcher then picked up the cooking book again, and began to read it once more.

* * *

 **Now that's the real 7th chapter! Lmao**


	8. Cooking Lesson

**New chapter! One of my favorites to write haha.**

* * *

"Have no fear, Cooking Cat is here!"

CC annunciated her presence, carrying a dufflebag of supplies. Harriet glanced up from the book Snatcher was reading her, and got a bit shy. The cat laughed, watching as the child buried her face into Snatcher's chest.

"Oh, ain't she just a peach!" CC placed the dufflebag down.

"How did you get here?"

"Your subjects seem to know the ins and outs of the forest quite well. Now, turn into your human form so this'll be easier. After that, use your magic to get a fire going. Chop chop!" She clapped her paws together. Snatcher grumbled, picking up Harriet and placing her on the chair. Harriet looked up at him confused, and watched as he formed into a human. He then got a distance away from his house, pulling some firewood together.

Harriet babbled as CC walked over to her.

"Oh don't worry, dear. I won't harm you. In fact," CC opened her coat, producing a small stuffed cat doll. She handed it to her, Harriet hugging it. "I'm gonna be teaching your guardian how to cook. You promise to be good for his.. Subconite, right?"

The Subconite nodded. CC bowed her head, and then skittered down the long roots. She grabbed her duffel bag on the way, setting it down by the firewood. She pulled out some rods and such. She began to set up a sort of stove, and watched as Snatcher brought in some tinder.

He lit a fire amongst his fingertips, alighting the flame to the wood and paper.

"There we go. Alright, you read at least most of the cookbook, right?"

"Yes, I have."

"Good. We'll make a simple dish to start off. Stirfry!"

As that was happening, Harriet and the Subconite were once again walking.

"You're doing great, Hattie," The Subconite encouraged, helping her walk across the floor. Harriet giggled, stumbling as the Subconite walked backwards. She was still walking quite nicely, however.

"Make sure the steak is cut small. She doesn't have a huge grasp on chewing just yet," CC explained. They now somehow had a table, CC making sure he cut the steak correctly. The huge skillet was hanging above the fire, attached to metal cables. CC was stirring the broth and some other ingredients, making sure Snatcher also watched that. After she was done, she set aside the bowl and went over to the skillet.

CC put some cooking oil into the skillet, and turned to Snatcher.

"Can you make the fire a medium-high heat? You really gotta invest in a good kitchen…" She mumbled the last part. Snatcher rolled his eyes and did so. "Alright, you finished with the steak?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good. Add it to the oil. I'll get on the vegetables, but you'll have to cook it."

Soon enough, it was all cooked with little mishap.

The Subconite picked up Harriet, bringing her down the roots.

"I'm guessin' she doesn't have a high chair?" CC deadpanned.

"She doesn't, but in my defense-" Snatcher was cut off.

"Don't want to hear it. Be thankful this dufflebag is convenient and I had a feeling."

CC pulled out parts to a high chair and shoved them into his hands.

"I'll feed her, you put that together," CC ordered, grabbing a plate from the dufflebag.

"Why am I the one being bossed around here?" Snatcher grumbled.

"If I must remind you, Mr. Snatcher, I'm the one who is technically in charge right now. Not to mention, I babysit my sister's kittens when I can. I think I know how to take care of a toddler."

CC sat down in front of Harriet and began to feed her. Snatcher began to put the high chair together, still a little miffed.

"Good job, sweetheart. Your teeth should be growing in more soon. When that happens, you'll be able to eat more things!" CC turned her head to Snatcher. "Which reminds me. You should probably get her a teething ring or two. Or else she'll chew through her pacifier."

"You don't happen to have one in your bag?" he quipped.

"Honey, I'm a cook, not a magician."

CC laughed at his angry expression, turning back to a smiling Harriet.

"I think you did well, for a beginner chef," CC complemented, seeing Harriet cheerfully eating each forkful.

After she was finished eating, Snatcher changed her and put her to bed. Harriet fell asleep quickly after that.

"So, how did you find her? I doubt it was because of a friend."

Snatcher sighed, transforming back into a phantom.

"I found her by the river. All I found was a note saying I'm sorry."

CC frowned, glancing at the little girl.

"How unfortunate. Do you know why her parents would abandon her at her age? It's quite lucky she came to trust you so easily."

"I've found nothing. Only the note, and this top hat." Snatcher opened his closet and showed off the top hat. CC furrowed her eyebrows, feeling pity.

"Poor dear. She must've been so afraid at first," CC exhaled. She looked over at Snatcher, her eyes soft. "As much as I tease you, I'm quite impressed you took her in so quickly. She could've died out there if you didn't find her in time."

Died out there. That echoed in his mind.

"If you need someone to look over her if your Subconites are busy, I'll gladly take the job. I may not have kittens of my own, and honestly I'm fine with that, I still love kids."

"Maybe I'll take you up on that offer."

"Just no funny business, mister. My soul is delicate and I don't like signing things." A humorous gleam was in her eye, even if she was serious about it. Snatcher waved her off.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Well, there is still some leftovers. Can you eat?"

"I choose not to."

"Well, tonight you choose to. Let's see how good you did for ourselves."

Snatcher rolled his eyes, following her out of the house.

Later in the night, as CC was packing up and Snatcher was finding a place for the high chair, a noise pierced the air.

Harriet was crying.

Snatcher was at her side in an instant, picking her up. She kept crying, however, making CC sigh.

"She probably had a night terror. Give me her."

Snatcher hesitantly did, and CC sat down on the chair. She began to purr, rubbing Harriet's cheek with her finger. The vibrations of her purring quickly calmed her down, and Harriet's cries silenced.

"A cat's purring is one of the most calming things in the world," CC chuckled, still purring as she walked over to her crib.

"Thanks, for everything," Snatcher begrudgingly thanked.

"No need. Helping people is one of my favorite pastimes," CC joked, gently putting Harriet down into her crib. She tucked her in, sliding the stuffed cat over to her side. "See you later for another lesson."

CC then left with the bag, leaving Snatcher to read to himself. Until Harriet inevitably woke up at three, as per usual.

* * *

A ways away, a floating figure watched with some interest. Mostly, he was heart warmed. He didn't meddle with affairs most of the time (even if it got lonely), as Snatcher didn't like him too much. He was proud of him to have gladly taken in a child.

Maybe he could meet her someday, yeah?

He left the area, smiling.

* * *

 **I wonder if ya'll could guess who he is~**


	9. First Steps and Time

**Back at it again with the late updates! But here's the next chapter, finally!**

* * *

"I'm here again, Cooking Cat!" CC once more announced her presence. It had been a month since she started helping Snatcher cook. And to everyone's surprise, for a beginner in the art of culinary, Snatcher was actually really good at it. Though there was some mishaps, for example a tree caught fire and…

Ya know what leave that to your imagination.

"As per usual light the fire and all. Today for this week I'll be teaching you how to make fish."

The Subconite and Harriet, meanwhile, were in the forest. The Subconite was once again teaching Harriet how to walk.

"You're really gettin' it, kid!" The Subconite laughed. Harriet babbled in reply, now not stumbling as much and was actually doing quite well. She couldn't walk on her own yet, however.

"Hey! Can you tell boss an intruder is heading north? It doesn't seem he's heading that way," Another Subconite asked, walking over to them.

"Yeah. Can you watch Hattie then?"

"Of course."

The other Subconite dashed towards the fire. Subconite turned to Harriet.

And wouldn't you know it!

She was uh, _not there_.

"What?! Harriet?!" The Subconite cried, freaking out. Ohh god boss is gonna have his head!

"Kid! Harriet?!" He cried, freaking out.

Babbling.

He ran towards the sound, finding Harriet sitting down in front of her sentient cat. Ah, her cat doll was alive now. That's-

Wait!

"Moonjumper?" the Subconite gasped, seeing the said ghost. Red strings hung from his fingers, and the cat was moving with him like a dance.

"Shh, let her enjoy this," He hummed, making the cat twirl.

"Moonjumper, if boss saw you with Harriet he'd flip."

"You're not going to tell him, are you? I come down from my horizon to visit my niece-"

"Suddenly… she's your niece?"

"Well, considering Snatcher and I-"

"Right, right. Fine, I'll keep my lips shut. But only because you're making Harriet happy."

And he was. Harriet was clapping, laughing as she watched her plush dance. Moonjumper smiled, loving to hear her laugh. Harriet reached out, and Moonjumper let the kitty fall into her arms. She hugged it close, and looked up at Moonjumper.

"Red!" She squealed, standing.

The Subconite gasped again, watching as Harriet walked, _on her own_ , over to Moonjumper. "Red!"

If Moonjumper wasn't tearing up he was now.

"Her first steps and boss isn't here to see it. Oh he's gonna kill you."

"It was worth it." Moonjumper picked her up, a big goofy smile on his face. Harriet laughed, patting at his face.

"Again!"

Moonjumper once again puppeted the doll, making it dance around her head. Harriet reached out to it as it danced around her, laughing.

"Boss is coming," The Subconite warned. Moonjumper put down Harriet, who stood.

"Red?"

"I'll be back again someday, don't you worry little one," Moonjumper reassured, giving her doll back. With a flick of his wrist, he was gone.

"Papa!" Harriet squealed again, seeing Snatcher. He turned to her, confused. That confusion turned to awe as Harriet stumbled over, hugging his ghost tail.

"She's…"

"Walking! We've finally done it!" Subconite one cheered, clapping. Subconite two just stayed quiet, a grin on his face.

"She's walking."

If you squinted you could see Snatcher's sinister smile turn more genuine.

"Bring her to CC. I've got an intruder to deal with. You're dismissed."

Subconite two went off to the village while Subconite one picked Harriet up. Snatcher went into a shadow to spook the new intruder while the Subconite dashed to CC.

"CC! Look!"

"What is it?" CC turned, watching over the food. The Subconite put her down, and Harriet stumbled over to CC.

"Cat!"

CC smiled wide, picking her up.

"I knew you could do it, sweets!" She tickled her cheek with her fur, making the toddler giggle. "Your dinner's almost ready, so go back inside, ok?"

Harriet babbled in reply, and CC handed her off to the Subconite.

Moonjumper watched from afar, smiling as he watched her go inside.

* * *

Before anyone knew it, five years would pass by quite quickly. Harriet was growing into a sweet child, and her clothes made her look like a sort of Subconite. She had a long cloak with black boots, underneath being a purple dress with black stockings.

On her fifth birthday, Snatcher had given her her top hat.

"Here you go."

"Thanks, dad!"

"It's Snatcher," Snatcher huffed. Harriet giggled, putting on the top hat. It slid over her eyes, still being just a tiny bit big. She slid it up, grinning up at her dad. Snatcher rolled his eyes, though a smile was still on his face.

It was only uphill from here. Sort of.

* * *

 **MoonJumper won't have a HUGE presence in this fanfic, but he's here! Congrats to everyone who guessed right haha.**

 **Yep, Harriet is five now! ...Almost time for the game, hm?**


	10. When we Met

**Here we go!**

* * *

"I'm gonna go explore and color, papa!" Harriet called, pulling her hood up. She held her top hat, spinning it in her hands.

"Don't go too far then," Snatcher reminded. Harriet grinned, starting to run.

"I won't!"

Harriet ran over to a bush, grabbing her stash of crayons and paper. She then ran to her favorite "table", aka a tree stump by the river.

She began to draw with a red crayon, humming a jaunty tune.

"What does dad do again?" she mumbled, squinting her eyes at the paper. "Oh yeah!"

She began to make a crudely drawn contract, writing her own name instead of Snatcher's in the top.

"But who would I contract?"

Suddenly, a ball just came crashing out of the sky. It narrowly missed Harriet, who yelped and jumped away. The ball bounced to a stop, landing right on her paper.

"What's this?" She picked it up, turning it around in her hands. It had red stripes all around it, and it was a light brown. But that's only because of dirt, she realized, seeing a white patch. It was also a little worn, but still together. "I've never seen a ball like this before…" She grabbed the contract and the red crayon into her hands, pushing them into her cloak's pocket.

She grabbed her top hat and put it on, walking in the direction the ball came from. Soon, she came close to the edge of the forest. She frowned, stopping.

"Where's my ball?" a voice cried nearby. She perked up at that, pushing her top hat up as it slipped down again. She walked in the direction of his voice, and gasped silently.

A white bird, or well, something like a bird, was searching around in the nearby bushes. From what she could tell, he was wearing a blue and red hat, with a red shirt and blue jeans. He kept scouring in the bushes for what she guessed was the red striped ball she held. She stepped closer, a convenient twig snapping under her foot.

The bird-lizard turned slowly, his hands shaking. He had no eyes, or eyes that couldn't be seen.

There was a moment of silence, Harriet looking awkwardly as the bird-lizard gaped at her. Then the sound came back as a shriek fell from his lips.

"Don't take my soul! I'm too young! And my soul doesn't even taste that good!" He blabbered, falling into the bush, his hat falling off as he scooted away. Harriet gasped, waving her arms.

"No! No! I'm not gonna take your soul!" She squeaked, stepping closer. He still gave her a terrified look, and she shook her head. "My papa does that stuff! I'm good! See I even found your ball!"

She produced the ball, and his fearful expression melted away as she took off her hat and pulled down her hood.

"See? No evil here!"

He glanced down at the ball before slowly taking it.

"You found my baseball?"

"That's what it's called?"

He gaped at her again, and for a moment she thought he'd scream again. But instead he got up, waving his arms around now.

"You've never heard of baseball? It's one of the bestest games in the world!" He gasped.

"Games?"

"It's a sport! I play for the junior league at my school!"

"Really? That's so cool!"

"I know, right?! The name's Duncan!" He held out his hand, and she took it.

"Harriet! But you can call me Hattie!"

They shook hands, and Harriet gasped.

"You can be my first contractor!"

"What's that?"

Harriet ran over to a tree and began to scribble down some more things on her "contract." She then ran back over and handed it to him with the crayon.

"A contract! To be my friend!" She grinned. Duncan glanced down, reading it over.

 _You are contraktually oblegated to be:_

 _My friend!_

 _Things I will hold hostge:_

 _Your friendship!_

 _Sign here-_

Duncan giggled, but took the red crayon and messily signed the line.

"Great! Now we're friends!" Harriet laughed, taking the contract and folding it. "Hey, what's Dead Bird Studios?" She read off his shirt.

Duncan gasped again.

"It's only one of the best movie makers out there! My grandpa has a section to himself! He's a director for movies!"

Harriet clapped.

"That is so cool! My dad…" Harriet paused, but then started again, "Makes a lot of contracts and he rules over this forest! He's a meanie on the outside but he's, um, what did Cat say… soft on the inside!" Harriet grabbed his hat, giving it to him.

Before Duncan could reply, a shrill Irish voice screamed out his name.

"DUNCAN HUGH! IF YOU DON'T COME OUT OF THAT FOREST IN THE NEXT FIVE SECONDS I'M COMING IN THERE!"

"Oh no! That's my grandma Maeve," Duncan gulped.

"Well, come on!" She grabbed his hand, guiding him out. A barn owl stood, steaming, glaring at the child. She wore a large hat, and was dressed quite fancily, with a long dress and little cape.

"Good! You finally listen!" Maeve scolded, storming over to him. "Oh?"

"Hello, Mrs. Maeve! I helped him get his ball back."

"Duncan, who is this?" she asked, now more calm and actually had a sweet mother aura about her.

"I'm Harriet! I'm his friend."

"Well, nice to meet you Harriet. Maybe I can swing Duncan around again sometime. But anyway." Maeve glared at her grandson. Harriet let go of Duncan's hand, and his hand was quickly snatched up by Maeve's. "Never scare me like that again! You're such a spanner, if your grandfather was here too he'd have a fit!"

Harriet smiled weakly, watching as Duncan was pulled away by his grandma. He turned and waved, smiling brightly. Her smile became strong and she waved back.

"Smell ya later, Duncan!"

Harriet dashed back into the forest, elated as she danced around.

She had finally made a friend outside of her forest! A bird no less!

She hoped to see him again!

* * *

 **If you couldn't guess, Maeve is the wife of Conductor, and Duncan is one of his grandkids!**

 **Also to Fairyhaven13, once the game is done being written, I'll be releasing another fanfic which has more content in between! So yes, while here it was rushed a little, the oneshots should bring more fluffy content!**


	11. Baseball and Meetings

**Next chapter!**

* * *

A couple weeks later, they did in fact meet up again. Harriet ran out of the forest, Duncan calling out her name.

He was holding two gloves and a bat, a couple wiffle balls in a sack.

"Hey, Hattie!" He called, placing the sack down. Maeve had once again joined them, along with a little girl. She was three from the looks of it, and looked more like a bird. She looked like a snowy owl, with piercing blue eyes but a big smile. She wore a cutesy little pink dress and clung to her grandmother like a lifeline.

"Hey, Duncan!" Harriet greeted, a big grin on her face.

"I'm gonna teach you how to play baseball!" Duncan explained, placing down the sack and pulling out a baseball. "My ma has a ton of wiffle balls at home, so she let me borrow some. I would bring baseballs, but they hurt when they hit your head."

"Cool!"

They set up a little base field, drawing lines in the dirt and placing down rocks for bases.

"Alright, so I'm going to be the pitcher first. Whatcha gotta do is focus on the ball, and then," He picked up the bat and swung it.

"Ooo. What happens after that?"

"Depends on how far you swing it! If you get a home run, you can run all around the four bases!"

Harriet's eyes lit up, and she grinned.

"Let's get started then!"

Harriet picked up the bat, fixing her top hat on her head.

"Are you sure you wanna wear your hat? It might fall off."

"It's my good luck charm! Of course I'd want to!" She giggles.

"Whatever you say! Alright, so you gotta stand on the right side. Then put the bat on the shoulder you write with!"

Harriet did so, looking at him. He gestured a pose, and she copied the pose.

"You ready?"

"Heck yeah!"

Duncan patted the ball into his glove, getting into a pitcher's stance. Harriet focused, her eyes narrowing. For being a five year old and never playing this game before, she really wanted to impress her new friend. He's… kinda the only friend she had at the moment.

He then threw the ball.

Everything in that moment seemed to slow down, an inch in time. It was almost like slow-motion to Harriet, even though it was regular motion to everyone else.

It was almost like everything except the ball was grayscale.

Harriet swung.

POP.

Harriet's eyes widened, gaping as the ball flew off into the distance. Harriet remembered the game's rules and started running around the bases.

"Whoa!" Duncan watched as the ball landed, bouncing until it came to a stop. "That was awesome!"

"Really?" Harriet stopped at the home base. Duncan clapped, grinning.

"Of course!"

Maeve smiled, watching from afar. She then glanced at her granddaughter, who was playing in the dirt with her dolls.

"Arlene, don't get too dirty. I don't think your mother would appreciate that," Maeve reminded. The little girl just giggled, making her dolls kiss.

Harriet spun happily, celebrating her first perfect hit.

"How did you even do that? You sure you've never played this game?"

"Yeah! It's like… I almost focused a whole lot on the ball…"

Duncan was about to reply but then yelped, pointing behind Harriet. Harriet turned, and gasped.

"Uncle MJ!" She squealed, running over and hugging the ghost.

"Hello, Hattie," Moonjumper greeted, hugging her back.

"You… know him?" Duncan asked, a little timid.

"Yeah! He's my Uncle Red! Well, his real name is Moonjumper, but that's too long!"

Moonjumper laughed, and Harriet made a come here motion. Moonjumper bent down, and she kissed his cheek. Moonjumper smiled, his eyes closing.

"This is my friend, Duncan!"

Duncan walked up, a little shy.

"Don't worry, he's not as scary as my papa."

"Nice to meet you, Duncan." Moonjumper nodded.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Moonjumper."

"Harriet?" Snatcher called, a Subconite accompanying him.

"Oh no, it's papa. You better go, Uncle MJ."

Moonjumper disappeared as Snatcher saw Harriet.

Outside of the forest.

"Harriet, what did I say about going beyond the border?!"

"Papa, I have a friend now!" Harriet huffed.

"A what?"

Snatcher came as close as he could to the edge of the forest without letting the sun touch him. He then crossed his arms.

"A friend. His name is Duncan," Harriet introduced once more, pulling him over. Duncan waved nervously, a bit intimidated by Snatcher's appearance. Snatcher frowned. "I wanna keep seeing him! I promise I won't go far, really!"

"Boss, it is true she's never really had a friend before outside of us."

Snatcher glanced at the Subconite before glancing again at Harriet.

Oh no.

She had the look. The puppy dog eyes, with a hint of stubbornness in her features.

"No, don't give me that look!" Snatcher groaned. "Fine, fine. But only if you stay in this area."

Harriet cheered and hugged him.

"Thanks, papa!"

"It's Snatcher, kid." Snatcher rolled his eyes, though they softened considerably. He patted her head awkwardly and she let go. "What are you even doing?"

"Baseball!" Harriet picked up the bat again.

"Technically it's wiffle ball, but it's close enough," Duncan chuckled nervously.

"Just be home before dark," Snatcher said with finality. Harriet nodded, and turned back to Duncan.

"Let's do this!"

* * *

 **We're getting closer to the game~**

 **Also yes the hat logic also works in this fic.**


	12. Double Digits

**It came to my attention I didn't update to chapter 12. I apologize for that haha.**

* * *

The big double digits.

The one milestone that takes a full decade of taking care of a child.

Their 10th birthday.

"Happy birthday, Harriet!"

"Happy birthday!"

"Yeah, happy birthday!"

"Thank you!" Harriet thanked, zooming by on her borrowed scooter.

Of course, they never knew exactly _when_ her birthday was. So they celebrated it on the day she was found by the river.

She delivered the last of her mail, the Subconite giving her a flower in return.

"Aw, thanks."

"Happy birthday! And thanks!"

Harriet zoomed back to her little tree. Ah, yes, since she was older she got her own tree home. It was only a few yards away from Snatcher's, and had a door instead of just walls. Though she wouldn't lie, she spent more time at her dad's rather than in her own room.

She dropped off the flower into a cup, and then zoomed off to her dad's tree.

She got to Snatcher's house, hopping off the scooter.

"Hey dad!"

She ran up and hugged him before he could protest. Snatcher sighed, but hugged her back.

"So, I can go into town with Duncan and his mom today, right? You promised!"

"I did?" Snatcher hummed.

"Yes, you did! It's my first day on the town. We even made a contract on it," She huffed, pulling out a worn piece of paper. It was slightly neater than her first contract, but she had made it when she was eight. So there was a bit of doodling and messiness here and there. But there it was, right by her signature, was his stamp.

"Right…" Snatcher taking the contract, reading it over. "Oh, alright. But be good, and don't-"

"'Don't trust any strangers.' You've been telling me this for months. I'll be back before dinner!"

Snatcher sighed, watching as she ran out.

"She's growing up, aye boss?" The same Subconite who took care of her pointed out.

"Don't remind me." Snatcher went back inside, grabbing a book. The Subconite looked up, frowning as he looked at the drawing a seven-year-old Harriet drew for them. It had her, Snatcher, and CC in the middle. They were holding hands with Harriet in the middle, and behind them was as many Subconites and Dwellers as she could fit.

Harriet ran, placing her top hat on her head. Her fashion sense changed again, the cloak shorter with no hood, but still black. She also had a cute purple dress, with black pants underneath and brown boots. Her hair had gotten longer, so long in fact she kept it in a ponytail with a yellow hair tie.

She ran out of the forest, meeting up with Duncan and his mom, Blanche. Blanche was a snowy white owl like Arlene, having blue eyes like her as well. She wore a blue button up and black pants, and held a white purse.

"Hey!" Duncan greeted. They high-fived, and Blanche smiled.

"Hello, Harriet," She greeted.

"Hello, Blanche!" Harriet greeted back.

"Well, let's go to the moon. But stay close to me, we have to get past the mafia first."

"Yeah, you have to pay a stupid toll," Duncan huffed.

Once they reached the town, Blanche held both of their hands. Harriet gazed around, a big smile on her face. Mafia Town might be, ya know, full of crooks and criminals, but Harriet was amazed nonetheless.

"Alright, you two stay here. He might try to haggle me or something."

While Blanche walked over to the toll person, Duncan and Harriet sat down.

"The moon is really cool! You're gonna love it there; maybe you can even meet my grandpa later! He's always busy with directing movies… This month is the annual Bird Movie Awards."

"They literally call it the Bird Movie Awards?" Harriet giggled.

"Well, what else would you call it?" Duncan questioned. Harriet shrugged.

"I dunno. Are your grandpa and… who was it, DJ Grooves, the only ones who make movies?"

"Nah. But Dead Bird Studios are huge in the bird world. I guess we just have a lot of people who like westerns and sci-fi films." Duncan shrugged.

"Hey! Let go!" A sudden high-pitched voice rang. Harriet stood up, looking around.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Let go of me, you crook!"

"I'm not sure."

"We should check it out!" Harriet proclaimed.

"But my mom said-"

But Harriet was already gone. Duncan sighed, but followed her.

A Mafioso held a red cloaked girl in his hand, who dangled from the ground. She had long blonde pigtails, a red cloak with her hood up, and strangely enough, a full mustache on her face.

"Let me go! Let me _go!_ " She cried, wiggling, trying to get out of his grasp.

"Mafia teach little girl lesson. Mafia does not like being beat on," The Mafioso explained harshly, dangling her over the fountain. He also held a blue umbrella with yellow stars decorating it.

"Hey! Let her go!" Harriet cried, running over.

"Leave Mafia alone. Mafia teach little girl lesson," The Mafia said, irritated. Harriet tried getting closer to him, only to be pushed away with his umbrella.

A quick plan came to mind, and with some strength, she pulled the umbrella out of his hand. Suddenly the Mafioso became less angry and more terrified of Harriet. He dropped the mustache girl, who just fell onto the pavement.

"Down with the Mafia!" Harriet exclaimed, running after the Mafioso. He cried, running around the fountain. The mustache girl watched with amusement, following their movements.

"Yeah! Get that peck neck, Hattie!" Duncan cheered. Harriet then swung the umbrella, knocking the burly man unconscious. The mustache girl jumped onto his back, a big grin on her face.

"You're resisting the Mafia as well? Good!" She proclaimed, looking down at Harriet. Her hands were on her hips, a confident gaze on her face.

"He was bullying you. What did you do to make him so angry?"

"Not important! Anyway, who are you?"

"Um… Harriet."

"Harriet! Nice to meet you, I'm Maria. I'm the sole resistor to those criminals! But I'll be glad to have you on the team," Mafia introduced, jumping off of the Mafioso.

"I'm Duncan," Duncan came over, greeting himself as well. "And Hattie! That was awesome!" He cheered, hugging her. Harriet laughed, hugging him back before letting go, turning back to Maria.

"Nice to meet you both! We should meet up again sometime, and discuss ways to take down the Mafia!"

"That would be interesting," Harriet agreed.

"I'm… not too sure. The Mafia don't bother me too much," Duncan replied. Maria glared at him before turning to Harriet.

"Whatever. But now we're friends!"

Harriet and Maria high-fived.

"Duncan! Harriet! Where did you two go?!"

"That's my mom! Well, Hattie, let's get a move on!"

"Bye!" Harriet waved, following Duncan.

Maria smirked, watching the two leave.

Little did they know, in just under a month, things would change in their life forever.

* * *

 **The game comes soon~**

 **And yes MU/Mustache Girl is named Maria. Wouldn't make sense if HK is named Harriet but MU has no name.**


	13. The first time fall

**I totally forgot to update here again tsk- So two chapter upload!**

* * *

Duncan and Harriet exited from an ice cream parlor, holding, well, ice cream. Harriet had strawberry, and Duncan had chocolate.

"At least their ice cream doesn't suck," Harriet giggled. Duncan shrugged.

They were allowed to go out alone for the day, as their parents weren't particularly hoverers. As long as they behaved, they were trusted enough.

"Hey, we should go down to the baseball field and hit some," Duncan offered.

"We should bring Maria along! Get some anger out. She has… a lot of anger, for the mafia," Harriet chuckled. She recalled when she went to visit Maria and the blonde had stated they should murder the Mafia and stuff their organs in jars. She was… an interesting case.

"Yeah, we could! I could be the pitcher again."

"Yeah! Alright, let's go."

The duo began to walk down the road towards where Maria always was. But then they got close to the fountain.

"Hey, what's that burning in the sky?" Duncan questioned.

"What?" Harriet looked to where he pointed. Her eyes widened, seeing a burning object in the atmosphere. Suddenly, an explosion occurred, streaks of light flying from the source. One in particular was…

"Look out!"

Duncan grabbed her by the cloak, pulling her back, his hands resting on her shoulders. The object rammed into the fountain, breaking part of it. Water flowed everywhere, and Harriet nearly dropped her ice cream. They looked up again, watching as the streaks of light flew everywhere. It was almost like a meteor shower, but in the daytime.

"Whoa…" Harriet gasped, watching the objects. If it had been at nighttime, it probably would've been beautiful to look at. Then again, it was still very pretty.

"What crashed into the fountain?" Duncan asked, walking over. Harriet ran over as well, digging through the rubble as Duncan held her ice cream.

A sand dial floated up from the mess, and Harriet looked at it, her lips parting. A sort of force field surrounded it and her, making everything dim except for the sand dial. She could hear Duncan, but he was muffled.

She reached out, and touched it.

Something inside of her rushed through. She inhaled, holding it sideways in her hands.

"What's that? A sand dial?" Duncan questioned. "Hey, it has your top hat on it."

"It does…" Harriet rubbed her fingers across it, feeling some sort of powerful energy surge through her from her head to toes. "It feels… familiar."

"Well, yeah, it's a sand dial."

"No! I-I mean it feels like I've… seen this before. But I don't know where. Like this exact sort of sand dial."

Duncan frowned, watching as Harriet stare at it.

"Well, there's more. If those lights were any indication."

"We should look for them!"

"But… how?"

Harriet glanced down at the sand dial again and smiled.

"It's a good thing I'm good at science and math. Come on!"

* * *

For the next couple of hours, Harriet studied the sand dial. She watched as the sand tilted from one place to another. Duncan watched, helping her get some supplies. Harriet then began to build a tiny contraption, using some of the essence from the sand dial and an old barcode scanner.

At one point Duncan accidentally dropped the time piece, however. It shattered, sand and glass going everywhere

"Duncan-!"

They froze, and then all of a sudden the time piece was fixed.

"Whoa…" They both muttered.

"We just went back in time!" Duncan cried

"I noticed!" Harriet quipped, picking up the time piece.

Some few odd hours later, and the device began to work. Tiny little bloops emitted from it occasionally, and it showed a diagram of the world.

"Yes! This device will help us!" Harriet scanned the sand dial, and dots lit up all over the screen. "We can start tomorrow," Harriet proclaimed.

"Oh, tomorrow? Harriet, I have a game tomorrow…"

Harriet frowned.

"Oh… Well, that's alright! Really, beat them good, ok? I can do this by myself."

"Are you sure?"

"Knock 'em dead." She grinned.

"If you're so sure." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I am! Really! Go home, I've gotta get home for dinner." She looked up, seeing the sun beginning to set.

"Alright, alright. See you later, Hattie!" Duncan ran off. Harriet waved weakly, before running towards Subcon forest. She almost tripped on an obstacle, making her bounce to a stop.

"What?"

A ball of yarn lied, all red with white wings coming out of it. She picked it up, spinning it around in her hands.

"Never seen a ball of yarn like this before… Eh!" She pocketed it, and continued running home. She smiled, recognizing the change the moment she entered the forest. Avoiding her dad's traps, she ran to his tree room.

"Sweets!" CC's voice rang, and Harriet smiled wide.

"Cat!" Harriet greeted, hugging her. The tabby had a cauldron, within it was some sort of soup. "Where's papa?"

"Someone disturbing the peace, pesky fire spirits, etcetera. He went on and on. I let him go to do what he needs to."

"I see. That's not unusual of him," Harriet giggled. CC smiled, adding some spices to the soup.

"Dinner's almost ready. Go get a bowl and silverware for everyone."

"Aye, aye!" Harriet ran over to her room, opening a cabinet full of dishes. She pulled over a stool and jumped on it, carefully pulling out the three bowls. She then opened a drawer, pulling out three spoons. She ran back over, being careful to not drop the bowls.

"Papa!" She greeted, seeing a satisfied Snatcher. He was carrying some poor soul's… soul, in his claws. Harriet gave the things to CC before running over and hugging him. He was now in human form, she only reached his waist. Snatcher patted her head, puffing a cheek out.

"It's Snatcher," He reminded, though there was no venom in his tone. CC laughed at this, taking the ladle and serving up the soup.

"Classic chicken noodle!" CC announced, giving a bowl to both Snatcher and Harriet. Harriet began to eat immediately, not caring if it just came off the fire.

"So, did you have fun with Duncan today?" CC asked, waiting for her's to cool.

"Yep! We had ice cream and…" Harriet trailed off. Should she tell them about the sand dial, and her odd connection with it?

"And?" Snatcher inquired, hesitantly taking in a spoonful of soup.

"Nothing else! Just played baseball," Harriet shrugged.

"Are you lying?" Snatcher asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. We really did! You can even ask him," She huffed stubbornly. Snatcher frowned, but didn't pry anymore.

The rest of the dinner was silent, CC sensing the tense atmosphere.

"Um… So, what are you doing tomorrow?" she asked around the end.

"I'm gonna go… watch Duncan's baseball game! It's a big one!" Harriet emphasised with her arms, making them go wide. She finished the last of her soup and gave the bowl to CC. "I'm gonna go get some sleep!" She then dashed off. Snatcher's face fell, watching her go to her tree.

"She doesn't sleep this early," Snatcher pointed out. CC nodded.

"She seemed kinda on edge. Maybe you should go talk to her. I'll pack up and get going."

Snatcher nodded, placing his bowl on the ground and he trailed after her. He knocked on her door, forming into his phantom form.

"J-just a minute!"

Harriet hurriedly put the scanner away, making sure the sand dial was hidden. She walked over to the door, opening it. Snatcher shadowed along the wall, sitting down on her bed after getting off.

"Is something wrong, Harriet?" he got to the point. Harriet sat next to him, shaking her head.

"No, really. Everything's fine."

"Are you sure? I'm… not exactly the best person to talk about things, but I can still-"

"Dad, really. We just had ice cream, and hit some balls down at the park. You know if I had something on my mind… I'd tell you…" Harriet felt guilt settle in. But she just had the overwhelming feeling to keep it secret, at least, for now.

Snatcher sighed, closing his eyes.

"If someone hurt you, you know I'd-"

"Dad!" Harriet groaned. "Seriously, just a normal day in the dynamic duo's life." She waved it off. "Now come on, I wanna get my pajamas on." She hugged him. Snatcher sighed again, but hugged her back. Harriet even managed to lean up enough to give him a kiss on the cheek. Snatcher rolled his eyes, though his smile turned more soft.

"Alright, alright. I gotta go see about a contractor anyway."

"Have fun with that. And don't make them do too much!"

Snatcher let out a short laugh. He left, and Harriet closed the door behind him. She sighed, going back over and pulling out the scanner again.

"Alright, I'll focus on Mafia Town for now, then work my way around…" She mumbled. "I should also figure out a place to hide all these… time pieces. Yes, that's what I'll call them."

Snatcher glanced back at her room, worried. But he shook the worry off, ducking into a shadow.

He just had to trust her, at least for now.


	14. TNT Battle

**Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to work on- and I won't forget to upload here again tsk.**

* * *

The next day came quickly and Harriet got up while fog still hung in the air. She snuck out, fully dressed with a messenger bag around her shoulders. Leaving a note for Snatcher saying she went out early to meet up with Duncan and Maria, she tiptoed out of the woods.

After taking a few shortcuts, she finally arrived at Mafia Town. She turned on the barcode scanner, letting it calibrate as she walked around. It finally blipped, showing off a few time pieces. She pulled her umbrella out of the bag, and started exploring.

"Another yarn ball," She hummed, picking it up. It was the same from yesterday, a red yarn ball with white wings peeking out. She pushed it into her bag, and kept walking. She sped up the wall, jumping onto a pipe before a tiny black bird could hit her. She then jumped up onto a concrete road, finding a… man?

He twitched and glitched, holding his staff tightly. He was wearing some sort of weird mask, and could barely hold still in all. She cautiously trudged over to him, and he spoke first.

"Hi there, young one." His voice was smooth yet mysterious, and his voice wavered at times. "I am from a far away land I've seen every corner of the earth, and now I sell tiny pieces of my discoveries," He explained. Harriet listened, though was a little unnerved. Sure, she grew up with creepy things all her life, but she's never met someone like this. "You may call me the Badge Seller, for I sell and trade badges. I can provide you with strong abilities and upgrades to your hat… If you have money, of course."

He brought out three pins, one with a magnet on it, another with a helicopter propeller and a picture of her umbrella, and lastly… a speech bubble with random symbols in it?

Her hand hovered over the magnet one, and the badge seller nodded.

"You'll be able to attract nearby collectables with this Item Magnet Badge. Fifty pons."

She moved her hand over the umbrella one.

"This Hover Badge helps you pull out your umbrella before a deadly impact. One-hundred pons."

She then moved her hand over the speech bubble one.

"With this Mumble Badge, you won't be able to hear anyone, just incoherent mumbling! Eight-hundred pons."

Harriet looked at him shocked, and glanced at the last too. She swiped the magnet one, pinning it on her hat and giving him fifty pons.

"I'll be back later for the umbrella one!" Harriet proclaimed. The Badge Seller merely nodded, and put the two pins away. Harriet left, running towards the plaza. As she got closer, she could hear Maria's voice yelling in protest.

"Your cooking is bad and you're a bad person! Now let me go!" She cried, and Harriet gasped at the sight. She was wiggling in a Mafioso's hand, and said Mafioso was standing on stacks of tnt barrels. Other Mafioso were dancing around on a lower layer of the barrels. One noticed her, and turned to her.

"Hey! Child! Shoo! Mafia can't have child witness when Mafia teaching lesson," He ordered. Harriet just stood there, staring at him for a few seconds. A mischievous plan came to fruition, and she smirked. She stuck her tongue out at him, blowing a raspberry. "This awkward for Mafia! Mafia not sure what to do."

"Boss, what do we do with eyewitness?" The other Mafioso asked, still dancing around.

"Teach her lesson, boys!" The one holding Maria ordered.

"Come to papa Mafia!" One jumped off, chasing her. She turned, smacking him with her umbrella. In a strange twist of events he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving pons behind. The magnet pin pulled the pons closer. Harriet was confused at first but decided not to question it.

"Why you little-!" The other came after her, and like the other Mafioso when she smacked him a bunch he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"No child will be in the way of Mafia!" The last Mafioso proclaimed, jumping down from the barrels.

"Let go of my friend!" Harriet angrily ordered.

Once the last on the lower levels was defeated, the mafia in charge yelled.

"Enough! Mafia won't bow to little girl! Prepare to feel Mafia's wrath!"

Harriet looked confused for a second only to jump out of the way of a spiky barrel. As the Mafioso taunted her, she kept dodging the barrels, narrowly missing a few. She kept going back and forth, ducking every time one went over her head.

"This lead nowhere! Mafia need take care of this Mafia style!" He growled. "Prepare to feel what Mafia do to old ladies!"

He then walked down, and Harriet began to fight him. He became red sometimes, but she otherwise headbutted him into the sky.

 _Literally._

She watched with amusement as the Mafia goon flew off, with even a bright light and 'ding' to seal it.

Collecting the pons the Mafia dropped, suddenly the world got dark again. She looked up, gasping as a time piece came out of nowhere. She admired it for a moment, a quiet ticking sound coming from it.

She jumped up the barrels and grabbed it, the black void becoming reality again. She stuffed it into her messenger bag, making sure it didn't break.

"Pfft. Can you believe them? What a bunch of losers." Maria wittly remarked as Harriet climbed down.

"You alright?" Harriet asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just scuffled." Maria waved her off. "That thing you grabbed there… Are you collecting them? Because I know where there's more of them."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they've been raining from the sky for a while. I've seen the goons bring them to their headquarters way up there," Maria pointed out. She then gasped, a big grin on her face. "We should go up there and get that junk! It'll be fun! I'll take any opportunity that involves messing up the Mafia!"

Harriet snorted, crossing her arms.

"You with me, Hattie?"

"Heck yeah!"

They high fived to seal the deal.

* * *

Later that night, Harriet wandered into her room, a small yawn escaping her lips. She yelped, Maria finishing up a diagram on a chalkboard that she had.

"Mari-A-?!" Maria pulled Harriet over to the bed, sitting her down and presenting the diagram.

"Are you ready to take down some Mafia?! Let's do it! I'm psyched!" She said with a cheerful giggle. There was a big "MASTER PLAN" in white chalk. Harriet looked curiously, giving Maria a questioning gaze. "Let's go over the plan! All assaults need a good plan, or it'll be a flop!" She flipped the chalkboard, making it spin. It showed a picture of Maria choking a Mafia goon, and Harriet looked with a mix of amusement and concern. "First, we strangle them! Choke 'em and watch 'em beg for mercy! That'll show 'em!"

Maria sighed.

"No, strangling is too kind." She spun the board again, now with a picture of Maria curb stomping a Mafia goon and showed an arrow pointing to organs in a jar. Harriet winced at that. "We smash them together into mush, and put their remains in a jar! Then we sell the jar for pocket money! That'll be the ultimate salt in the wound!"

"Right…" Harriet mumbled, making Maria grin.

"Ahem, but first, we have to make it through their Mafia HQ," She explained. "Once we find and dethrone the Mafia Boss, the rest will follow. Then our mush and jar party will be no problem!"

"Are you sure this is uh, sanitarily safe?" Harriet chuckled nervously.

"Of course! Ugh, don't worry about the details." She waved her off. "Now, we've got to get you geared up! Your hat is basic, and we don't do basic in this gang!"

"Hey!" Harriet held the brim of her hat. But Maria ignored her, spinning the chalkboard once more. Now it showed Harriet with a yarn ball.

"Yarn can be found all around Mafia Town. Apparently there was some sort of yarn factory explosion or whatever and they haven't bothered to pick up the balls. You can use them to stitch new hats if you're crafty, which I'm sure is the case." Maria eyed a knitted scarf, which was wrapped around Harriet's headboard on her bed. "I've collected one for you!"

Maria threw the yarn at Harriet, who caught it easily. The same red string with white wings sticking out like before. Huh. She placed it down on the bed.

"You need more yarn for some hats than others. I guess being creative isn't free, huh?" Harriet shrugged. "So keep an eye out for yarn!"

Another spin. Maria doing a thumbs up.

"Now you're a killing machine! Let's go get them soon!" Maria left as soon as she came after that. Harriet watched curiously, wondering how she was dodging all her dad's traps so easily.

"Harriet?" Snatcher called.

"Coming, papa!"

This would be an interesting adventure, no doubt. Even if it was strange.

She just hoped she would figure out why she was attracted to these time pieces soon.


	15. Clocktowers and Aliens

**Hopefully chapters become more frequent. My writing muse is starting to come back, though this also means in later chapters, I will be combining certain events together. I'll explain a little more at the end.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Harriet played with her food as she sat at the table, staying silent. Later in the night, she would be helping Maria break into the Mafia HQ. It made her nervous, breaking into a place with so many brutes. She knew she was strong, but it was still nerve wracking.

"Kiddo?"

Her dad broke her out of her deep thinking, her fork scraping particularly loudly. She winced, glancing over at him.

"Y-yeah dad?" her voice broke, and she cleared her throat. Snatcher frowned, crossing his arms.

"I didn't make dinner for no reason you know," He huffed. She grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, I've just been, um, distracted."

"Distracted? Why, Duncan lose?"

"No! No, he won." She hoped. "There's uh… a cosmic event! A cosmic event, for the sun!"

"What's going on with the sun?" Snatcher asked, genuinely curious.

"Um, a solar flare! A big one. Might cut power if we're not careful. But it won't happen for a little longer."

"I see… How'd you figure that?"

"Tracking it, and whatnot," She chuckled nervously, taking a bite of her carrots. Snatcher put his book down, and sat down on the other side of Harriet.

"Harriet, if there's-"

"No! No, papa, really. I'm fine. I'm just excited and nervous to find out what this solar flare will be like." Harriet waved him off, eating more of her dinner.

"If you say so. Tell me when it happens then, so I can prepare the Subconites."

"Right, papa."

Harriet quickly finished her dinner, standing up and hopping off the chair.

"I gotta go meet up with Maria! I'll be back before bedtime!"

"I-"

"And dad?"

He stopped his sentence, looking defeated.

"Can you read to me tonight? Like you used to?"

Snatcher smiled softly.

"Sure, kiddo."

* * *

Harriet ran into town, raincoat in her bag as she heard it would rain later. She paused, sitting down for a moment.

"How many yarn will it take to stitch a new hat?" she wondered. She grabbed two of the white wing yarn, and gasped, the tip of the umbrella glowing. She threw the yarn up, and a hat popped out of the gray smoke.

"Ooh sweet! Didn't know this was a magic umbrella!" She grinned, admiring the hat. It was a red visor with white wings, the material having a more hard feel than yarn. She carefully placed her top hat into her bag, placing the visor on her head. A perfect fit.

Suddenly, a burst of adrenaline pumped through her veins. She didn't know where it came from, only that it existed. She let her feet carry her, going at a very fast pace without getting tired. She yelped, ramming into a blue vault. She rubbed her nose, grumbling to herself. Wait, did the vault shoot out… lights?

Three lights flew out, lighting three paths. She followed one close by, finding a floating blue ticket of some sort. She gripped it, suddenly understanding.

"Maybe if I get all the tickets…" She mumbled, then grinned. Picking up a yarn on the way to the second code, she managed to find all three. She brought them back over to the safe, unlocking it. Pons flew out, and she put them all in her pocket. "Sweet!"

Dodging some of those little black crows, she suddenly found herself in front of a pipe after jumping on a balloon. She gasped softly; what was that blue orb?

It floated silently, stuck in place, yellow lights swirling around it.

It almost felt… familiar. But she couldn't place where she's seen it before. Just that in her past it… existed.

She reached out between the bars, her fingers waving in a motion. She was drawn to it. A lot. The way it beckoned her…

She touched it.

Suddenly, everything froze. Her eyes widened, the glowing orb suddenly bursting. Time reversed, then stopped. She screamed, falling from a ridiculous height. Her cloak went up into her face, and she tried pushing it down. Bubbles were falling from her mouth as she gave up on the cloak and held onto her hat. Then, she landed. Her cloak floated down softly, like she was… underwater?

A soft melody. She _knew_ that melody… But from what..?

She glanced around, gasping as she saw clock towers and were those… whales?!

Platforms slid in and out of a wall, and the curiosity festered as she began to climb them. Being careful not to jump onto one that slipped back into the wall, she finally ran up the wall and jumped over. The view was gorgeous. She balanced across a thin bridge, taking in the blue and white architecture.

She slid down a slant, and began to climb similar sliding platforms. She froze, seeing the next platform continuously rotating. She jumped once she was ready, making sure to stay on the top.

A time piece…?

She ran, jumping up gears. She finally got to the top, and jumped up, the time piece glowing. She blinked, and then found herself at the pipe again. The orb was gone, and she held the sand dial in her hand.

"Whoa…" She mumbled, putting the piece into her bag. "That was beautiful…" She mumbled.

Dark clouds began to roll in, and she winced as thunder boomed. It was like they were racehorses, coming in at a ridiculous speed. She ducked into the pipe a bit, watching as lightning crackled and rain began to pour. She gulped, pulling out her yellow raincoat. She slipped it on, and jumped down from the pipe.

She ran around for a bit, killing some of the tiny black crows and avoiding Mafioso. She also collected some yarn- wait.

"This one is purple and yellow…" she picked it up, watching as it emitted a weird bubbling substance. She placed it in her bag, and kept running with her visor on. She then reached the place where The Badge Seller was.

"Please disregard my twitchy behavior. My body has been to places that have left a... permanent mark." Harriet gave him a look before buying the umbrella badge. After giving him the pons and yelling a "Smell ya later!" she kept running.

She finally reached a building, but before she could walk further, she yelped.

A huge mud puddle was in her way, making her all muddy and gross feeling. She groaned; now she'd have to take a bath when she got home. She stretched out her arms, the thick mud getting in her eyes. She walked out from behind the tower, grumbling as she saw a Mafioso holding a time piece. She trudged over, grumbling still.

"What the… huh?!" he yelled. She gave him a confused look. "It's… It's slimy space alien!" He shrieked. "Mafia saw spaceship! Mafia knew all along! Mafia is being invaded by aliens!" he then screamed, shaking and trembling like a kitten in a storm drain. Harriet watched in amusement, deciding to humor him. She shifted on her feet, making grumbling sounds. A flash of lightning went off nearby, and the man dropped some pons. She took them and carefully placed them into her bag, and then ran after the Mafioso.

She jumped over the gap, flipping in the air to double jump. Physics, am I right?

Harriet ran up to him again, and he let out a girly scream and dropped more pons. She pocketed them once more and jumped on pipes. She then jumped over to the box he climbed on to, doing a dive to the box. He yelped, dropping more pons as he jumped away.

Harriet groaned, pocketing them and chasing after him once more. She kept going, until finally reaching one part.

The Mafioso panted, going on his hands and knees.

"Leave Mafia alone, you monster! Here, if Mafia give you this, will you go away?"

The dark void again. Harriet listened to the ticking for a moment, a small smile growing on her face. She then grabbed it. She then left the Mafioso, and jumped into the ocean for a moment. Immediately the mud washed away, and she sighed in relief. She climbed out, wringing out her clothes and hair. She'd better put on fresh clothes the moment she gets home.

She ran up the building again, this time avoiding the mud puddle.

"This is what Maria talked about, right?" She mumbled, touching the cannon gingerly. She then climbed into it, and it tilted back and shot her off into the air. She screamed, closing her eyes.

Please land!

* * *

 **Alright so what I mean is that I'm going to be combining game chapters into one big chapter. For example, Grooves movies will be in one chapter, Conductor's the same, and Alpine skyline will be unfortunately skipped until the end, as I will describe Alpine at night only. I also won't be describing all rifts, unless they are purple. They will just be mentioned in passing. Otherwise, the purple ones will be short, yes, but I will still describe the pictures at the end and such. They'll mostly be footnotes in chapters.**

 **I never meant for this story to be a whole retelling/novelization of the game of course. I am terrible at that, and plus someone has done it already and it's much better than what I can do haha (Finding Home by Imagigamegirl, btw). That's why I've decided to do this more condensed version of the game, as Family au won't focus much on the game after the arc is done. Of course it won't be forgotten, but, well... You'll just have to wait and see what happens huh?**

 **Can't wait for Sleepy Subcon... ;)**


	16. Mafia Ball

**Hi! It's, uh, been a while.**

 **I regained my writing muse! And this will basically be a fanfic bomb. 7 chapters. I upload first on A03 btw. It was 6 chapters, 6 months special, but 7 chapters because today I uploaded chapter 22.**

 **To make this go by faster, there will be NO notes for any chapter until chapter 22!**

 **So have fun reading ya'll!**

* * *

Fortunately, she did. She stumbled a little, waving her arms so she didn't fall. She heard the tink of metal cans hitting something nearby. She glanced over, seeing Maria being pelted at with metal cans on top of the building.

"You took your time! Help me out here!" Maria yelled. "Get these brutes off my case and we can go inside!"

"Right!" Harriet brought out her umbrella, swatting at the Mafia. They exploded in smoke, leaving pons behind.

"Good job Hattie!" Maria congratulated, jumping down. Harriet collected the pons and followed Maria. They both stood on buttons, and the metal bars blocking the entrance fell away. "Let's go, it's showtime baby!" Maria joked, walking in with Harriet.

They walked into a casino like area, Maria dashing off to other room while Harriet switched her visor out for her top hat. Harriet spotted a time piece being carried by a Mafia, and she gasped.

A metal can was suddenly thrown at her, and she winced. It hit her right in the temple.

"Hey!" She harrumphed, glaring. More cans were thrown in her direction and she ran, running into a different room. There was another button, with more steel bars and a key behind them. She jumped on the button, and the bars lifted. However, before she could get close, the bars closed again the moment she stepped off the button.

"Hmmm…"

She stepped back out of the room, being careful not to alert the Mafia again. Those cans hurt!

The Badge Seller… Was he always in her general area?

After buying an extra pin, she clipped it onto the Hover Badge. She then pressed it into her top hat. She looked around, suddenly remembering something.

"Mama Cat…" She mumbled, looking up at the small floor. She climbed up the bar, and jumped onto the rafters. As she was expecting, CC was making something at her stove.

Harriet tip-toed over to the bucket of lobster, an idea springing to mind. She stopped, gulping as she saw CC's ear twitch. She continued moving after a moment, grabbing the bucket.

"Harriet Katherine…" CC's southern drawl came out smoothly just as Harriet sprung a leg over the edge of the room.

"Y-Yes?"

CC turned to her as Harriet looked back at her, a nervously big smile on her face. CC gave her a knowing glare, her paws landing on her hips.

"Tell me sweets, why are you in the Mafia Hangout…?"

"I… wanted lobster?" Harriet gestured at the seafood in hand. CC narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms.

"Is that so?"

Harriet sighed.

"I'm sorry, Mama Cat. But the mafia have this thing called a Time Piece, and I need to bring it home. I… I feel a strong connection to it and I need to find out why."

CC sighed. Her arms fell to her side as she tapped her foot.

"Does Snatcher know?"

"No… But I'll tell him soon, I promise!"

CC frowned, but nodded.

"I trust you. But if you get hurt I had no involvement."

Harriet grinned, putting down the lobster for a moment before briefly hugging CC.

"Thanks Mama!" She thanked, running back over and jumping off with the bucket in hand. CC sighed again, shaking her head.

"Youths…" She went back to cooking.

Harriet ran into the room again, slamming down the bucket on the button. After grabbing the key, she went into the kitchen where Maria went.

"Go ahead, Hattie! Open this thing up and I'll keep guard here. Good luck!"

"Alright, be safe!" Harriet unlocked the door and went through, a chill going through her spine. Ugh, a freezer with large fish.

She let her top hat guide her up to her objective, going through an air vent. She yelped, falling down into a pile of coins. She brushed off some coins, secretly pocketing some pons. What? They were bad guys! She was just.. Holding onto them!

Anyway.

She gasped, meeting eyes with the Mafia Chef. He glared at her as she stepped closer, spotting the time piece floating above his hat. He pushed a button on the arm rest of his chair, two fences going up. Mafia came out from behind curtains, but she quickly defeated them.

The gates fell once she was done, and she stepped up to the steps of the throne.

The Chef jumped down onto one of the steps, startling Harriet.

"So… It is you!" He yelled, a gruff tone as he put his hands on his hips. "Ever since you started messing around in Mafia Town, it's been raining with these magical hourglasses. You must be really lost, kid with the hat."

Harriet crossed her arms.

"It's Harriet!"

"I didn't ask," He snapped. "You're in the heart of our town, standing before the most powerful man you will ever witness."

Harriet hid a snicker behind her hand, making the Chef glare at her even more. Most powerful man? Yeah right! She betted he couldn't take anyone's soul or toss fire around all willy nilly!

"Everything you've ever owned belongs to me now," He stated.

Harriet gave him a "really?" look, cocking her hip to the side.

"I'd like to see that," She quipped, raising an eyebrow.

"If you want this silly hourglass, we'll have to settle it in true Mafia style!"

Harriet was suddenly dragged out into the stage, and it was all dark until spotlights turned on. She winced, putting a hand over her eyes. The boss was standing on one end of the stage while she stood on the other, finding herself in front of hundreds of Mafia men. It made her nervous for a moment, honestly.

"Lights! Action! It is… showtime!"

The curtains pulled back to show a set piece of other mafia men, cheering on their boss.

"Wahhhh!" He cried, spinning with two knives in his hand. He glowed blue, and Harriet jumped over him as he spun past her. He could've cut her!

"Hey, that wasn't very nice!" She cried, switching out her top hat for her speed hat. He came back again, but this time she headbutted him. He jumped off the stage into the crowd, sandbags falling down from the ceiling. She barely managed to dodge them, gasping for air.

She felt something hit her, but felt… rejuvenated, somehow. It made her pumped up.

"Super charge!"

He spun again, electric spheres zooming past onto the floor before dissipating into the backstage. She jumped over them, the boss dizzy and spinning around. She ran, hitting him with her umbrella.

"I'm gonna get you!" He shouted.

"Try me!" Harriet shouted back.

He jumped off stage, the sandbags falling again. Harriet dodged better this time, and he shouted another one liner.

"You're no match for me!"

He spun again and Harriet headbutted him. He threw a fit, yelling in rage. Harriet watched amused, then gasped as he jumped onto the set piece behind them. He threw his knives, the weapons spinning as he jumped back down. She just dodged him as he landed.

She hit him before he could grab his weapons, making him yell again.

"I got your friend captured," He revealed with a twisted smile. Harriet gasped, Maria dropping in on a rope. "And soon you will both perish!"

"Maria! I'll get you down!" Harriet promised.

"You better! Let me go, you psycho!" Maria cried, wiggling around in the rope.

The boss jumped off stage as sandbags fell from the ceiling again, and Harriet just managed to jump over a mafia goon.

"Slow down!" The boss demanded, throwing the knives again. He jumped down onto the stage again, the knives flying faster. She managed to headbutt him in time. He had another tantrum before jumping over her. Harriet watched in awe and shock as he shouted.

"Mafia Ball!"

At least fifty mafia men gathered into a huge tight ball, and the boss rolled on it. Harriet stood in between the gap, not sure what to do.

"Harriet! Hit him already!"

"How?!" She cried back.

"Climb up there and hit him!"

"Climb…?" she mumbled, then figured it out. She climbed up the gap, and hit the boss. The ball fell apart, and she fell onto the stage. He yelled angrily before jumping to the end of the stage.

"You're no match for me! Super charge!"

The same electric balls slid across the stage, along with bouncing electric balls. Harriet quickly found a spot where they didn't bounce and jumped over the remaining ones.

"Mega charge!"

The charges became red and quick. Harriet quickly jumped over all of them, panting for a moment. She then ran over, and hit him as he was blue. One more mafia ball and spinning attack later and she defeated him.

"It can't be!" He screamed, falling off the stage. The Time Piece floated in the middle of the stage, Harriet standing for a moment to take in the peaceful music it emitted. She then grabbed it, holding it in her hand. Maria joined her a moment later, and they glanced together at the remaining Mafia.

The goons gasped, and then ran away crying. Harriet let out a short chuckle, and then gasped herself as Maria stole the hourglass from her. She glanced back, Maria bouncing the glass on the tips of her fingers. Harriet felt a chill go down her spine.

"So what do these things do, anyway? Are they some sort of rare collector's item for nerds?" she teased, giggling. She then bounced it off her elbow, the hourglass falling onto the floor.

"No!" Harriet cried, running over. But the Time Piece smashed against the stage, turning back time as Maria stopped mid-sentence. She glanced at the time piece in shock, then back at Harriet.

"Whoa, what?!" she yelped, looking at the Time Piece.

Harriet rubbed the back of her head, feeling a little flustered.

"Wha… did um.. Did you know about this…?" Maria asked, unsure as she picked the hourglass back up. Harriet snatched it back, stepping away from Maria.

"Yeah, I was uh, just as shocked as you are," Harriet explained, grinning sheepishly.

There was a brief pause, consisting of them just looking around awkwardly. Then Maria pranced closer.

"This is crazy, Hattie! Do you even understand what could be done with these?!" Maria stated, a big grin on her face. "We could beat up the Mafia, travel back in time, and then beat them up again!"

"Maria…"

Maria pulled her close with one arm, tapping her finger on her chin.

"No, wait, we could make it so the Mafia never arrived on the island!"

A spotlight suddenly turned on and Harriet could vaguely see a figure up in the light section, watching with amusement.

"Wait, wait, wait, even better! We could be crime-fighting time travelers!" Maria cried, her eyes lighting up. Harriet wiggled out of her grasp, shaking her head.

"It wouldn't be right. These timepieces belong to someone else," Harriet said firmly, opening her satchel and putting it inside. Maria was silent before glaring at her.

"Wait, what?! This doesn't make any sense, Harriet!" She yelled, making Harriet flinch. "The people who owned these are dead, I saw the explosion too you know! You are gathering all this power, but won't use it to fight evil?!"

"No, it's not right to use something that doesn't truly belong to us," Harriet lectured. Maria's hands balled up into fists, glaring at her once friend. She then dramatically turned, looking back with an angry stare.

"If you're not gonna use them to fight evil… Then I will!" She swept over to Harriet, making the brunette flinch back again. "I'm not gonna allow this island to stay Mafia Town! I'll collect the timepieces myself! You have my word on it, Harriet Katherine!"

'Maria, please be sensible-"

But Maria already jumped off stage, running off out of the headquarters. Harriet sighed, opening her satchell again. She gasped, finding that her wallet had been opened and half of her pons were gone.

She groaned softly, getting off stage herself and walking to the exit. All she wanted was her comfortable bed.

* * *

Snatcher was worried.

No, no, more than worried. He was scared.

Harriet hadn't come home at dinner, in fact it was around ten when they usually ate around seven. Her dinner had since become cold. His hands clasped together nervously; there was no wandering soul, no feel of a heartbeat.

Nothing.

He had been reading the same goddamn sentence for the past ten minutes for god's sake!

Then his eyes widened; Harriet's soul.

"Harriet!" He called, zooming out of his tree. Harriet was cleaning herself with a towel, though she glanced up at her dad.

"Hey, dad. Got caught up and ended up falling asleep at Maria's place. But I'm here now," Harriet's lie came out smoothly.

"You should've still tried contacting me!"

"Dad, you don't even have a phone," Harriet deadpanned.

Snatcher huffed angrily.

"If your attitude-"

"I'm just cranky, papa, I'm sorry. I just want to go to sleep."

Snatcher frowned, crossing his arms.

"Please?"

Snatcher sighed, nodding. Harriet shoved the towel into his hands, trudging to her tree room.

Snatcher watched with a forlorn expression, but a different soul entering the forest changed that. He'd deal with this later.

* * *

And when he did, Harriet was asleep. Her leg lazily fell off the bed, and she didn't even change out of her clothes. She had just taken off her top hat, cloak, and shoes off and put her yellow scrunchie on the headboard. Snatcher sighed, exasperated as he pushed her leg onto the bed, picking her up so he could move her under the covers.

"Goodnight, kiddo," He mumbled, his eyes half closing in exhaustion as he left, closing the door softly.

Why did she always have to keep secrets?

...He didn't even get to read her that bedtime story.

He wouldn't admit it, but that broke his heart.


	17. Rifts and Birds

The next morning, Harriet snuck out once more. She quickly bathed herself in a refillable tub, scrubbing off the leftover mud from yesterday. She then put on fresh clothes after drying herself, grabbing her brush from her satchel. After brushing her hair and teeth and freshening up for the day, she made sure her tracker was in the bag and wallet. She quickly scribbled down a note, saying she's gonna visit Duncan.

She snuck an apple out of a fruit bowl, and ran out of the forest. Munching on it, she rode on the Snatcher Scooter, as she called it, to Mafia Town. There were a few time pieces left here, she noted.

After finding codes to a golden vault and getting that time piece, she rode around, looking for the last one. She stopped on the beach, spotting a purple orb.

"Usually they're blue… Now it's purple?" she mumbled, getting off the scooter. It disappeared in a puff of smoke. She walks up to the blue tent, climbing up the side and reaching the top. She then stepped back, and then took a running leap. She reaches her hand out, a grunt leaving her as her hand met the orb.

She fell feet first into a time rift, and she fixed her askew hat back on her head. A mafia man was leaning by a pipe, looking a bit dazed.

"Um… Hello?" she mumbles, unsure.

"Ah, little child. Shiny hourglass flew out of sky, hit mafia in the head," he explains. "It seems to be if you die, you start over. There is also shiny paper up on that ledge." He points out.

"Thank you!"

Harriet climbs up the pipes, reaching the top to find…

"Ew!" she cries, shaking her hand that was covered in some sticky substance. "Is this fish guts?" she gags, taking off her handkerchief and wiping her hand off. She then notices a photograph, and picks it up.

"It's black… Like a polaroid…" she murmurs. She looks down at the pipe, and steps back once more. She then leaps right into it, hearing the entrance close behind her. She fell into a new world. "Alright, time to keep moving then!"

She spots a pon with royal crown beside her. Grabbing it, she realizes the number above the pipe went down.

"These pons must be the key… Alright."

She went around, grabbing pons and polaroids when she found them. Dodging mafia, going through each level once she had enough pons. Finally, she landed on a pillar with a nest in the middle.

"Another orb?" she touches it, but it doesn't bring her anywhere. It trembles under her touch, and she takes out her umbrella. "Hiyah!" she whacks it hard with her umbrella. It bounces around, a visible crack growing in the front. She runs, beating it again and again. More and more green pons fall out of it, which conveniently jump into her wallet.

Boom!

Harriet gasps, a time piece floating in front of her. After collecting all the pons, she grabs the time piece.

"Whoa!" she yelps, falling into a black space. "Wh...Where am I?"

The room briefly turns a dark red, and the photographs she collected float out of her pocket. She watches in awe as pictures appear, and then fall into her hand.

"Mafia's Grand Voyage...:" She mumbles, shuffling through the pages. It told of the mafia, and how they got to town. "Wow! So that's how they got here." She gasps. Once she gets to the last page, the photographs lift and spin around her, taking her out of the rift and back on the beach. "Alright, time to get a move on!"

She looks down at her tracker, seeing that there were no more currently. She nods, poofing her scooter back and hoping on.

"Alright tracker, take me where to go next!" she orders playfully, turning at dials as she mounds it on the middle of the handle bars. She then turns it on, finding a blip appear on the world's map.

After an hour of riding, she found herself outside of Dead Bird Studios.

"Ooh! This is where Duncan's grandpa works!" she realizes. She began to run inside, the long black hallway making her footsteps echo. She finally reaches the automatic door, which slides open when she steps through. Two birds, a penguin, and- owl? Wait, he looked like Duncan- Conductor!

Speaking off the lighter feathered boy, he was standing a ways away with some owls, showing some baseball cards he had to them. Harriet smiles; she'll say hello when she gets the chance.

"This movie studio is too big for the both of us, DJ Grooves! The movie should be made by real birds! You Moon Penguins are just gonna write some loud, noisy drivel! If I wanted to watch a bunch of peck necks dance around while on birdseed, ha! I'd visit me grandchildren." Conductor subtly gestures to Duncan afterwards.

"Nonsense darling, nonsense. You Owl Express birds are just going to record another boring train-related western! You've done so for the last ten years, darling!" DJ Grooves replies, a laugh entangled in his speech. Conductor stutters for a moment.

"Wha-?! No we haven't, you buffoon!"

This is where Harriet droned them out, finding it quite funny that they were so lost in their argument they didn't even notice her. She glances over at Duncan again, who was still happily showing another owl his cards.

"WHADDA WHAT?!" Harriet snaps out of her thoughts, seeing the time pieces in cases, being carried by owls and penguins. Conductor fired back, claiming Grooves stole their props. Grooves rebuffed his statement, and Harriet was sure he had rolled his eyes while doing so. Grooves left first, taking the penguin carried case with him. Harriet bit back a laugh, seeing Conductor quickly build wooden planks over the door. And then, he left himself, with the owl carried case.

"Hattie!" Duncan calls cheerfully, bounding over to her.

"Oh! Hey, Duncan!" Harriet greets, smiling.

"Ooh! Those were time pieces, yeah?" Duncan asks, realizing why she's here.

"Yep!" Harriet glances up at the air vent Conductor pointed out to the Receptionist earlier, and squinted at it. "I'll have to sneak in. You gonna go see your gramps?"

"Yeah. Humans aren't allowed in, something about a mafia goon walking in one time and ruining the train- Uh, you sure you can sneak in?"

"Yeah! Don't worry. I'll be as quiet as a mouse!"

"Duncan!" Conductor calls from behind his door.

"Alright, I'll see you soon then. Good luck, Hattie." Duncan grins, before disappearing behind the doors. Harriet jumps up on to the display case, pons jumping into her wallet as she hopped across a cardboard stand and jumped onto the ledge by the air vent. She pulled, the cover fully dropping easily. Slipping on through, she fell right into the studio.

After about twenty minutes of parkouring and jumping and balancing, collecting yarn and pons along the way, she finally reached a red carpeted platform. She breathed a sigh of relief; she nearly got caught a lot during that, and frankly she'd rather not do it again.

She ran up the platform, finding Grooves talking about the replica of the trophy. He suddenly turned, and a loud flamboyant gasp fell from his beak.

"Oh my! Oh my! What is that I see? Is it true inner beauty? An innocent soul with a heart of gold?"

Harriet stared confused for a moment, blinking incredulously. Ah, yeah, DJ. As innocent as the daughter of a ghost who stole souls could get.

"Oh, no, it's just a little girl. Hello!" Grooves greeted cheerfully. "Oh wait, you're not a penguin. That's good! I could use some non-penguin company around here, as all my penguins are frankly terrible actors!" Grooves chuckled. "Here's the biz: I need your help," Grooves began.

"W-What?" Harriet stuttered, her cheeks reddening. "We just met!"

"Yes, darling, I know. But I'm on a terrible losing streak, and I just HAVE to win this next annual bird movie award," he said, pleading. "There's no doubt: I absolutely MUST have you as the star!"

"But, I'm not even an ameture actor," Harriet replied, absolutely flabbergasted.

"Doesn't matter! I can already tell you're a natural!" Grooves waved her off. Harriet sighs; well, maybe she'll be able to get the time pieces back if she does this. Grooves jumped over to a cardboard cutout with a camera.

"If you say so."

"I know so, darling! Now, we need to give you a bird passport, darling! Step right over here," Grooves explains. Harriet walks over, stepping in front of the camera. "Let's take the pic."

"Right."

"Ok, put on a smile, and stand still, please! Don't move!"

Grooves snapped the picture.

"Darling, look at you! You look absolutely fabulous, darling!" Grooves compliments, showing her the photo. Harriet grins sheepishly; she hasn't taken one of these in… Forever.

"Thanks, DJ Grooves."

"You're welcome, darling! Now, let's slide this in-"

He took out a passport, and slid in the picture.

"Here you go! Fill out the details and all that with this pen!"

Harriet took the pen, filling out things like her name and date-of-birth. Once that was done, she slipped the passport carefully into her satchel.

"Wonderful, darling! Oh, just wonderful! Meet me at the movie set tomorrow, and we'll make you a star!"

"Alright, thank you!"

He jumped away, and then seemingly slid down the stairs.

"Hey! Whatcha think yer doing?!" Harriet jumped out of her skin for a moment, turning and seeing Conductor with Duncan in tow.

"Grandpa! That's Harriet, the girl I mentioned!"

"That doesn't matter, Duncan!" Conductor stormed over, getting in Harriet's face. "Yer can't just jump in and fiddle with the annual bird movie awards! That's fraud! Hey everyone, we got a fraudster over here!"

Harriet looked over at Duncan with pleading eyes, and only got an uneasy look in return.

Conductor grumbles after a moment. "Where are my owl guards at?! Oh, why are the owls so darn useless?!" Conductor yells.

"I, uh," Harriet begins, but is cut off.

"Alright, listen here, Harriet, lass! Yer in big trouble. If you're helping crooked DJ Grooves-" Harriet heard Duncan sigh in an exaggerated fashion- "rig the awards, and I can't take yer to jail, then yer gotta help me even the score!" Conductor explains. "That's right, yer gotta be the star of my movies, too!" Conductor reveals.

"Alright, Mr. Conductor," Harriet sighs, finding no choice in the matter.

"Here, hold our newest prop." Conductor produces a time piece,"Practice showing it off, and bring it to my movie set tomorrow! Yer got that? Don't be late!" he let it go, and Harriet watched as the ticking of clocks and the familiar gentle tune emit from the glass. She lets out a soft content sigh, before gently grabbing it.

After being led out by Duncan, he hugged her suddenly.

"Harriet, this is amazing! This means we'll be seeing each other a little more often too!" Duncan yelled excitedly.

"I suppose so! I'm guessing you come here often?"

"Yep! Usually I'm either an extra or I just watch him film! It's really fun!"

"Alright, then I'll be here first thing in the morning!"

"Yeah! See ya!"

"Smell you later!"

Harriet jumps on her scooter, zooming off back to Subcon. Once there, she lets the scooter disappear in a puff of smoke as she runs into her room. Taking off her satchel and pulling out the time piece, she hums to herself for a moment.

"Ah! I know where to put you guys now." Harriet says with a definite hum. Collecting what time pieces she had so far, she ran outside into a small clearing by her house. There was a small cave which went unused, hidden behind branches and leaves. She tucked away the few hourglasses onto the floor, making sure their glow didn't break through the thick grove.

After that was settled, she walked back out and dusted off her hands, only to bump into a certain purple parent.

"Harriet, where have you been?" Snatcher asks.

"I thought you read my letter."

"I did, but you were still out for a long time."

"Duncan needed a little help with his homework. No big deal, papa," Harriet replies, fixing her top hat again as she walks towards his tree. Snatcher sighs.

"Can you- Can you at least tell me when you're leaving next time?"

Harriet pauses, and turns.

"Of course!" with that she ran off. Snatcher rubs his hand over his face, a sigh leaving him again.

"What are you doing, kiddo?"


	18. The Grooves Sides

"Alright darling. We need to transform you into the biggest movie star the bird world has ever seen! We need to make you… a diva!"

The next day, Harriet was on set with Grooves. Poor Harriet was still incredulous about this whole plan, however she knew she had to do this if she wanted those timepieces back.

"That's why I've called for a press conference on our movie set." Grooves gestures dramatically to the crowd and beyond of moon penguins. "You need to get out there in front of the cameras, and electrify the public, darling! Get 'em really up and going for your movies!" he explains boisterously. Harriet grins nervously. Sure, she put on silly sock puppet performances and other childish acts for her aunts and uncles at home. But this was all real.

Harriet had to admit it made her a bit nervous.

"If you say so, Mr. Grooves," she replies, her tone just a bit wavery.

"Don't be so anxious, darling! The penguins are some of the friendliest bunch around. Nothing like the much more… aggressive Conductor. Just once you get them going crazy for you, you come back here and we'll show our new prop! That's right, we'll unveil our new movie prop to the masses, in front of everyone here!"

Harriet inhales nervously, closing and opening her eyes again as she lets out the inevitable exhale.

"Alright, Harriet. You can do this! Just… think of them as your aunts and uncles at home!" Harriet mumbles to herself as she jumps off the stage.

"Oh, hi there!" Harriet nearly bumps into a penguin. Immediately, they got all jazzed at her appearance. Harriet feels her face flush as she continues on.

She flinches, covering her face as a camera flashes in her face.

"Thank you!" the penguin says cheerfully. Harriet feels her face flush even more, not used to this attention as she continues on, jumping to the roofs above. Carefully balancing across a telephone wire, she avoids a UFO as she bumps into a capsule that had pons inside.

A drumroll from far away began, and she quickly collected them. The last popped, revealing itself to be fake as confetti flew around her form.

"Wow…" she murmurs, and keeps running around. More cameras flash, as she actually begins to pose and and have fun. She laughs, collecting Groove stickers. Though eventually, she accidentally bumps into one behind a counter.

"You called, darling? Looks like it's endorsement time!" Grooves falls from the sky somehow, making Harriet jump back in surprise.

Grooves went on about condiments, describing each one.

"Which one do you like on your sandwich?"

Harriet remembers a specific word. With a mischievous grin, she answers loudly,

"PECK!"

Grooves is flabbergasted as he quickly fixes her mistake, telling her to run off before "the elder birds hear what she said."

Soon enough, cheers and whoops could be heard from the stage from which she had started out on.

"The audience is going crazy, darling!" Grooves says into her microphone, Harriet being able to hear over the speakers. "Come over here and show off our new stunner… our new prop!"

Harriet rushes back to stage, hearing the familiar ticking and soft melody. Harriet sighs contently, grabbing the timepiece.

"Come back in two hours for the next movie, darling!"

"Alright!"

* * *

"Harriet Katherine," Snatcher questions as Harriet emerges from the timepiece cave. The little girl jumps for a moment, not expecting her dad.

"Yes?" Harriet asks nervously.

"May I ask why you're in the newspaper for the Bird Federation?"

"Huh?"

Harriet takes the newspaper from his claws. Harriet pales.

Little Girl becomes a Movie Star! 

Harriet Katherine, a little lady from Subcon Forest, is to star in four different movies for Conductor and DJ Grooves, two each, for the annual Bird Movie Awards-

"I can explain!" Harriet waves, dropping the newspaper. Snatcher leans closer, an invisible brow raised. "This is-uh, what I've been keeping secret! Yeah, see, Duncan introduced me to his grandpa and things escalated and well, now I have to star in two movies each for the birds in return of… helping Duncan make this huge science project!"

"You want to become a movie star?" Snatcher asks, incredulous.

"Yeah, of course!" Harriet lies smoothly. "I didn't want to tell you because… it was a surprise! So, surprise!" Harriet does jazz hands, wearing her signature grin.

"If you say so. Just, be careful, alright?"

Harriet nods, saluting and running off, making her scooter poof into existence afterwards. After Harriet zooms off, Snatcher sighs.

"Why didn't you tell her…?" a Subconite begins, but stops when Snatcher holds up a hand. He parts the leaves, seeing the time pieces sparkle.

"I want her to tell me on her own terms. If she feel she can't trust me yet, then I'll wait. I don't know what these do, but if she feels she needs to be independent while doing whatever with these, then I will allow her to do so. She's old enough."

The Subconite who found the grove invisibly frowns. Snatcher lets the leaves cover the cave again.

"If anything happens to her however, I won't hesitate to step in."

"If that's what is best, boss."

Snatcher lies his arms behind his back, floating off, thinking quietly to himself. The Subconite watches, sympathetic but unsure of what the future would hold.

* * *

Harriet carefully traverses the lights and telephone wires of the roofs, eventually finally landing on the one with Grooves. She walks up to him, confused about all the hoopla.

"Hello, darling! Welcome to the largest studio set you'll ever see!" Grooves says with pride.

"I kinda see that. There's so many people here."

Grooves nods.

"We're about to start recording The Big Parade, the movie that'll take the breath away the audiences worldwide! You'll be the star, as always. For this movie-" Grooves gestures to a huge disco ball, which held the timepiece. "-we'll need to use our special prop! It'll pop out at the very end! But wait, darling! You're current outfit isn't really fit for a parade. Can you go put on the one in the box?"

Harriet opens the gift, finding a marching band outfit inside. She puts it on over her clothes, swapping out her top hat for the band hat.

"You look great, darling! Don't worry, this movie is really easy. Keep moving around and the band will follow you! Just don't bump into them!" he said with an audible wink. So weird.

"Alright, if you say so."

"And keep your eyes out for goodies. The audience loves that kind of stuff. The parade will be going on for a while, no way to speed it up. But don't lose spirit! I'm sure you're gonna make a wonderful leader, darling."

Grooves jumps off, impressively landing in a control booth above a float. Harriet clears her throat. Goodness, so many people. She hoped Conductor's movies weren't so… flashy.

"Good luck, darling!"

"Ready… Go!" a moon penguin said into a microphone. Cheerful parade music plays from the band as Harriet runs, keeping a good amount of distance between them. She really didn't want to get hit. She collected various shinies and stickers during this.

For a few minutes, everything was actually pretty easy. Until that is, Grooves leaned into his microphone.

"It's time to heat up this movie! Darling, can you turn on the pyrotechnics?"

"Th-The what?"

She spotted a few dials, and went after them. She counted as she went, finishing at "got 'em!"

A roof with lighting on it suddenly turned on with a countdown beforehand, sparklers and such sparking the stage. The poor penguins who were on said roof flapped their wings in a feeble attempt at not getting hurt.

"Alright, just avoid those when they're on… Easy!"

And of course, it wasn't too bad for a few minutes. Harriet actually found herself to be enjoying the parade. Even if she did have a band following her that followed every and I mean every movement. From each bounce to parkour move. It was impressive, really.

"This movie needs more action! Harriet darling, turn on the firework cannons for the big firework show!"

The power buttons glowed red, thus she went after them. Until, of course, she saw a firework.

"Gah!" it explodes just a few feet from her, knocking her over. She grabs the telephone pole, hanging upside down. The band kept going quite mercilessly however, so Harriet started to quickly scoot over to the pole, grabbing her balance.

She sprints around, jumping on the big buttons and trying to calm down her speeding heart rate. She finally finished, and kept running around, nearly tripping on a nest.

"Time to release the parade surprise! Grab it darling!"

Harriet gasps in relief, hurrying her way over. She grabs the time piece, lying on her back as the band finally stop, too.

"You did fantastic, Harriet darling! You can go home now."

"Thank… heavens…" Harriet pants, spreading herself out.


	19. The Conductor Sides

"Hey, Conductor, Duncan!" Harriet greets once the train starts moving down the track. He's casually leaning against the handrail, holding a walkie-talkie. Duncan waves excitedly, giving Harriet a high-five.

"Welcome, Harriet, lass. I haven't written the script for me next movie yet, so we're not recording!" Conductor explains. Duncan nods, a grin on his maw. "I'll call for yer when the script is ready!"

"Alright! Are you coming with me, Duncan?" Harriet asks. The bird shakes his head.

"I can't. But I'll meet up with you when the movie begins filming! I'm an extra." Duncan beams with pride.

"Ah, so cool! Smell you later, then!" Harriet runs inside. A bunch of crows were walking around, all in trench coats and fedoras. The atmosphere was strangely tense.

"Hello, fellow Express Owl." Harriet jumps, turning to one of the crows that walked up to her. "Do you care about security? I care about security a whole lot."

"That's n-"

"You should not be going around telling information to strangers. It could be a security risk!"

"I know-"

Harriet's face turns a bit sour as she keeps being cut off, pouting.

"I can help your daily life become more secure. What is your favorite combination of letters and numbers?"

Harriet pauses as the crow takes out a pen and pad of paper. He hands it to her with his beak, making Harriet recoil as saliva covers a bit of the pad. Disgusting!

"Uh…"

Harriet hesitantly takes the pen, wiping it off on her cloak before clicking it. She taps her pen on the paper before writing down a mix.

1 l1k3 574r5

"Here."

"I see, I see. 1 l1k3 574r5 is also my favorite combination of letters and numbers!"

Harriet nods, unsure as she continues on.

One asked what was her uncle's sister's maiden name. She held the pen and paper in her hands.

"Do any of my uncles have sisters?" Harriet asks, actually thinking about this for a second. She hums. "Uh…"

Randomly, a name came to mind.

Epoch.

She wrote that down.

She kept going through questions, answering on a notepad every time.

Name of pet of pet-Chablon-Superhero name-Hat Kid-Formula on a black board-DCB4ILOSE-The part of herself she was insecure about?-Voice-

Etcetera. It was honestly exhausting.

At the very least, she was able to finally make her Ice Hat. A cute blue beanie with bear ears. Activating it made her turn into a frozen statue, which was really cool!

After collecting a key, she goes all the way up to the controls of the train. A gift was on the floor, and she opened it.

A few minutes later, she was in a noir-style detective garb.

"Whoa! These look familiar… hm."

She turns to the nearby telephone, as it begins to chime.

"Hello?"

"Is this Harriet? I hope you like my present.. Hehehe."

Harriet blinks in confusion, furrowing her eyebrows together.

"Go to the back of the train. Your uncle's sister Epoch has come to visit you."

"Huh?"

"You better show your 'fam' some love, or I'll be talking to a corpse next time."

A shudder goes down Harriet's spine as the line goes dead. She hangs up the phone, stepping back.

"I have an uncle's sister? Wait, wouldn't that just make her my aunt?" Harriet hums, tapping her chin. She was perturbed, but went to the back of the train anyway.

Duncan was clutching his grandpa's hand, shaking. A cardboard cutout of an old lady that resembled Harriet stood in front of a knifed owl. Harriet gasps, seeing the blood on the floor. Only to realize something.

'Ah, the movie. No wonder why they were asking questions,' Harriet huffs.

"A-a MURDER? On MY Owl Express?" Conductor yells, in denial while looking at the body. "I can't believe someone would murder one of the Express Owls!"

Harriet has to hold back a chuckle.

"And I can't believe even more that it's yer uncle's sister Epoch!" Harriet shrugs. "What do yer have to say for yerself?"

A beat. No response.

"Yer givin' me the quiet treatment, eh?! That's what a murderer would do!"

Now both Harriet and Duncan hold back a burst of laughter, Duncan letting go of his grandpa to stand with Harriet. They do share secret grins with each other however.

"Leave this case to us! We're CAW, the Crow Agent Watch! We've been monitoring everyone on this train since the last station. We'll be searching the entire train for evidence. No one is allowed to go outside of this wagon," a crow gruffly states.

"What?! I can't even walk around in me own train?! How dare ye!"

"Once the clock hits midnight, we'll get off at the station with the murderer in cuffs! Stay here while we investigate further."

A ding is heard far off. One hour remained.

"Go, Harriet. I believe in ya," Duncan says, grinning. Harriet hums in amusement, running out of the wagon.

For the next hour, she stealthily gets casefiles for each suspect. Conductor, Epoch, the owl himself, the owls, the CAW agents, and interestingly, herself.

Once the hour was up, she was called back to the caboose.

"So, who dun it?!" Conductor asks, pounding his hand into his fist.

"We… couldn't find any conclusive evidence. We don't know who murdered this owl…" The CAW agent sheepishly states.

"So you've done PECK all to solve this mystery?! Harriet, who did it?!"

Harriet smiles, flicking through the casefiles.

"I did it," Harriet confesses. In all fairness, she was interested in what would happen.

"You did it?!"

Duncan gasps, putting his hands to his heart.

"My own best friend!" he accuses, in fake disbelief. Harriet however was sure that if she could see his eyes, they'd be full of amusement. "Why, yes, it all makes sense!" Harriet shrugs innocently. "You saw the Express Owl all by himself, a lonely victim in your master scheme. With a hatred for society and it's rapidly increasing progress of transportation, you struck down the first passenger you saw! His body laid like a mannequin, with blood spilling everywhere, and the smell…" Conductor inhales sharply. "It woke your inner demons! Then you tore of his limbs, and ate them one by one, like an animal lusting for blood! That's how it happened, wasn't it? You murdered that owl in cold blood!"

Harriet coughs to hide a snort of laughter, her cheeks becoming red.

"Actually, I'm fine," the owl states suddenly, standing up from the fake pool of blood. "She just stuck this fake rubber knife on me and told me to play dead." He shrugs.

"Oh. Still! You've gone too far this time, detective! You're going to the dog house!"

And just like that, the movie ended.

"Well, thanks for solving the murder, lassie. Not only did you reveal the murderer, you revealed that the victim was never harmed! And, you have us intense footage for the movie!"

"I had a feeling, Mr. Conductor," Harriet giggles. Conductor crosses his arms.

"What, you think I'd actually let a murder happen on my Owl Express?"

"Not really," Duncan chuckles, shrugging. Conductor sighs.

"Well, it'll be a much better movie than whatever DJ Peckneck is making on his sets! Here, take this thingamajig and get outta here!"

Conductor hands her the timepiece, which she takes gracefully.

"Be back in an hour for the next movie! Duncan, go home."

"Yes, gramps."

They got off at the train station, walking towards Mafia Town.

"I do have to go see my ma, but see you later, Harriet!"

"Be seeing you! Smell ya later!"

They wave at each other. Harriet grins, running off to get ice cream.

* * *

She hangs out on the caboose of the train again. Conductor is holding a walkie-talkie once more, relaxing against the handrails.

"We're getting ready to shoot the biggest action movie in bird history! Go in, Harriet lass!" Conductor ushers her into the train. Harriet looks at him confused, fixing her top hat after it gets jostled in the ushering. "This movie is gonna be the bomb!" Conductor laughs maniacally. "And I mean bomb in a good way, peck neck."

"Oh boy, what does he have planned…"

Harriet moves to the badge seller, buying another pin and what was apparently a "No-bonk badge", which sounded useful. She pinned it on along with her umbrella and magnet badges.

She looks around, and then looks up. There was a hook, attached to a screen with a large X on it. She clicks a button on the handle of her umbrella, where a little trigger appears underneath. She shoots at the hook, her grappling hook shooting out of said umbrella and pulling her over. The hook pulls down, and the X turns into a checkmark.

The screen next to it turns on. Conductor had his hands behind his back.

"Alright, lass, listen up. I have some bad news!"

Oh no.

"That lever you just pulled… it starts the train's self-destruct sequence, and that ain't no joke. It'll blow up!"

Harriet feels her jaw drop. Seriously?!

"I need a movie with some real intense action, so that's what we're gonna do! The train will blow up in a few minutes! But you can save us all, Harriet lass! Get to the switch at the front of the train to turn it off. And you better make it in time, alright?! I don't care about the owls or yerself, but you don't dare blow up me train for real! It's my baby!"

"Then why did you choose this as your big action movie?!" Harriet cries, clutching her bangs.

"Sometimes you must choose the hardest decisions in the trying of times! Plus, I believe in ye. The cameras are gonna be rollin', lass, you better hurry now! Over and out!"

"Conductor, seriously?!" Harriet cries again. Over the intercom, a ladies monotone voice talks. It vaguely sounded like Conductor's daughter, aka Duncan's mother.

Harriet begins rushing through the train, pushing past panicking owls, saw blades, destruction of the bloody train itself. She screams, a part of the train falling from the train itself. She clicks some panels which fall rapidly behind her, desperately trying to make a bridge. Once it turned green, she rushed on.

She dodged bombs, fire, lava, the works. Her heart raced.

She was not about to die. No way!

Finally she pushed through the last door, with just five seconds to spare. She leaps for the button, which was in front of an angry Conductor. She yells out a battle cry, slamming the button with all her might. The sequence finally shutdown, Harriet panting and sweating.

"Ah, you made it! And in time! Ohohoho, look at all this raw footage we got! Look at how yer runnin' for dear life!" Conductor laughs, looking at the footage on the nearby monitor.

"Glad… you got to be amused… by my panic…" Harriet pants, deadpanning.

"What? We did it in the name of cinematography! And to beat that no-good DJ Grooves! I bet he won't be able to make HALF the movie we just made! Alright, take one of these thingamajigs you like. You deserve it."

The timepiece floats above Harriet, and she gasps for air a little.

"At least the parade didn't make me sweat this much… I should really wear lighter colors…" Harriet mumbles, grumpy. She grabs the timepiece and finally leaves.

* * *

"CC?"

"Snatcher, I told you a million times. Call me Cookie," CC replies, stirring noodles in a pot.

"Listen, can we talk?"

"About what?" CC doesn't look up from cooking. Snatcher frowns.

"Harriet… has been keeping a secret from me. And I accidentally found out what it was from one of my minions. I need advice."

She turns to him for a moment.

"What would that be?"

Snatcher frowns.

"I…"

"Mama CC!" Harriet cries cheerfully. She runs and hugs her mother figure, now in her usual garb.

"Hattie, baby! How was your day?" CC asks. She turns to Snatcher, mouthing a 'later.' Snatcher nods.

Later, when Harriet was tucked into bed, Snatcher refrained from showing CC the time pieces, but did describe the situation.

"Well… Waiting for her to tell you is a good way about it. Harriet has always been a strange one since that explosion about a few weeks ago."

"Explosion?"

"I forgot to mention, aw shoot. There was this huge explosion in the sky, and these hourglasses fell from the sky. One fell right into Mafia headquarters! Scared the living daylights out of me. She's not… collecting them, is she?"

Snatcher goes quiet.

"I see…"

CC looks at the plate she's washing while Snatcher dries.

"Snatcher, has it ever occurred to you that these hourglasses could be tied to her past? Her… real past?"

Snatcher stops his drying.

"I never really considered that she'd be able to find her origins. I never considered her to be…"

"I know, I didn't either."

They both look up at the sky. Moonjumper's silhouette stood out amongst the clouds, his hands moving around vigorously as he makes something from his strings.

"An alien…" They both mutter.


	20. Alpine's Intermission

With the announcement of the winner being delayed until the next day, Harriet thought it'd be best to focus on another side of the timepiece collecting.

"Alpine Skyline is really pretty!" Harriet comments to Duncan. They had just finished up the Twilight Bell, sightseeing along the way.

"Yeah. I haven't been up here in years. My dad likes to hike a lot, ya'know?" Duncan replies.

Harriet was holding the pictures they had also gotten from the purple timerift.

"Their origin story is so fascinating! Papa mentioned something about a religion with them worshiping a goat god. I guess this is that."

Harriet puts the pictures away, continuing to walk.

"Wait, Harriet, stop!" Duncan grabs her arm and pulls her to his side.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Duncan points, his mouth open in shock. The purple flowers that they had been seeing everywhere were in bloom, but that wasn't exactly a good thing. The goats twitched wildly, their eyes turning red and becoming aggressive. The nomads began to run, yelling for help. Dark clouds swirled above, purple lighting flashing as the wind picked up.

"Oh!" Harriet stumbles, her eyes wide.

"We gotta help them!"

Harriet nods, running and grabbing Duncan by his hand. They shoot off towards one of the mother plants, dodging lightning on the way towards the first. They both yell, Duncan pulling his hat over where his eyes would be.

"I don't like lightning…" Duncan mutters, his voice shaking.

"It'll be ok! Do you want me to leave you at the entrance?"

Duncan glances at the running nomads, and nods.

"Someone's gotta help them," he points out, gulping down his fear. Harriet takes a shortcut, dropping him off at the mountain top. He runs towards the chaotic bunch as she shoots off again for the mother plant.

She dodged vines and lightning, duly noting that the vines reminded her of her father's vines when he used his plant magic. It was fairly rare that he used said magic, but it happened occasionally.

Purple magic swirled around her after the first plant was broken from it's roots, disappearing into dust. Harriet gasps for air; it felt like a weight was pressing down on her chest. She runs off after it disappears.

She rushes around, the air getting much more intense. She had found it easy to breathe above the clouds, even to blow the horns. Which even Duncan couldn't do, may I add.

Finally, she defeated the last monstrous plant. She collapses on a hay bale, tears building in her eyes. Why was she crying? Why did she feel so… empty?

She sniffles, wiping at her eyes. It was so strange. It felt horrible. But, the dark clouds at least disappeared.

Why did she feel like that?

Harriet rubs at her chest, which felt hollow. Once she met Duncan back at the entrance, with nomads and goats, he notices that she was crying.

"Harriet? Are you ok?" Duncan asks worriedly. Harriet nods, sniffling.

"Thank you, sweet lady! We heard from this bird that you were collecting these!"

A nomad presented a timepiece as the goats stomped in agreement. Harriet delicately takes the timepiece.

"Thank you…" Harriet says with a small voice. They begin to leave. "Duncan, I'm gonna go home."

"Do you want me to come with?"

"No, I need… I need to be alone. Sorry."

"No! No, it's ok, dude. Just… be safe, ok?"

Harriet nods.

* * *

"Harriet?" Snatcher questions, seeing Harriet having her head down. He puts down his book.

"Dad?" she asks, looking up at him. Her eyes were a bit red, and Snatcher panics.

"Hey! Were you crying?! What happened?!" he asks, turning into his human form and kneeling in front of Harriet. He holds her face in his hands, rubbing her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, papa… Something happened…"

"What?" if anyone hurt her…

"Papa, did someone plant purple flowers in Alpine?" Harriet asks. Snatcher goes pale.

"I… I'm not sure."

Harriet doesn't press this.

"Why do you ask?"

"They went into bloom. Some of the vines… They looked like your vines when you use your plant magic. Like that one time, when you saved me from falling into the swamp as a baby?"

Snatcher goes silent, but scoops Harriet up into his arms.

"It's alright, Harriet. It's possible some strong magic was behind those flowers. Are you ok, however? The plants didn't affect you, did they?"

"No, no I'm fine…"

Snatcher sighs, sitting down in his chair with Harriet still in his arms.

"Papa? Can you read me a story like you used to?"

Snatcher pauses. But with a snap of his fingers, an old book was in his hands.

"Of course."

Snatcher opens the book, Harriet looking at the pages. For some reason, she just… didn't want to leave.

It was like it was, when she was a toddler.

"Ahem... " Snatcher sits straighter, his legs plopping down on the ottoman. "This one is about a possessed doll… Think you can handle it?" a mischievous grin was on his features as he takes Harriet's top hat, placing it on his head. Harriet nods, suddenly eager to listen.

* * *

"Alright, tonight-"

CC pauses in the doorway. A smile grows on her face at the sight.

Snatcher, now in his spirit form, was fast asleep, the book he had read on the floor. Harriet was wrapped in his arms, pressed against his chest. The top hat was slowly slipping from his head at the angle he was stuck in.

CC grabs the blanket from the closet, placing it on them.

"Sleep well, you two. I'll cook tonight."

CC pecks Harriet's cheek, the little girl fidgeting but not stirring. CC pats Snatcher's arm, and he mumbles something about a crown. The tabby cat then walks off to the makeshift kitchen.


	21. Heart-To-Heart

Harriet falls out of the purple timerift, a "whoa" echoing out from her voice.

For the last half-an-hour, she had gone through the latest purple timerift, which had the Conductor and Grooves' origin stories inside. The awards was today, and Grooves won in a landslide. She glances at the photos again, and hums.

"They really aren't so different…" she mutters. She then rushes to the awards, seeing Grooves on the stage with moon penguins cheering him on. She walks up to him when Grooves sees her, as he gestures wildly to come closer.

"Thank you darling, thank you! You secured our victory! We won the annual bird movie awards!" Grooves cheers, bowing to the whooping audience. "The Conductor is probably awfully sour from his second loss ever, but don't worry, he'll come around!"

"I suppose…" Harriet mutters sarcastically.

"Anyway, we're all done here! No more movies until next year. Since you're so eager to get your hands on them, you can take my final movie prop as your last movie star payment!"

He takes out a timepiece, giving it to Harriet.

"What, did you expect something crazy to happen? Nonsense, darling Harriet, nonsense!" Grooves chuckles. Harriet hesitantly takes it, leaving.

At the entrance of the studios however, the phone began to ring.

"Huh? Wait, wasn't there one more timepiece?" Harriet questions after she put the hourglass in her pocket. Her eyes narrow, and she picks up the phone.

"The winner knows about the power of the Timepieces. He's been keeping one, and he's gonna break it. The truth lies buried underneath Dead Bird Studio. What goes on in Dead Bird Studio when no one else is around? Blow the cover on this thing, Harriet lass!"

The line goes dead, and Harriet turns, gunning for the same air vent that she had used previously.

It was fairly dark, but she could still see due to some of the lights still on. She parkoured her way to an elevator she had noticed previously. She clicks the call button, stepping inside.

The ride was a long and drawn out one, not even elevator music played! Harriet taps her foot, impatient and sour that she was tricked.

"I just hope Duncan isn't here… What if something happens?" she questions quietly.

For an hour, she traversed the basement of the studio, collecting yarn and pons. She was frankly annoyed, but determined to get the last timepiece owed to her. At one point she was able to make a dweller's mask, but she still kept her visor on for now. Once waiting through yet another elevator ride, she arrived to an odd stage. Grooves stood on a stage, moon penguins hollering on the sidelines.

"What the-"

"Look who we've got here, darling! I guess you found my little secret, huh? This last timepiece is all for me, darling. If you want it, well, I guess you're just gonna have to come and take it!"

Harriet could smell the battle cry a mile away. With a large inhale and exhale, the battle began.

Grooves leapt at her, yelling a battle cry of his own. She narrowly dodges, hitting him with her umbrella. He jumps back, jumping up on to a disco ball.

"Here we… Go!" he yells, smashing the disco ball into the ground. Harriet dodges the aftershock, once again hitting Grooves.

The battle went on for a little while, neither side showing any sign of stopping. Spot lights fell from the ceiling, saw blades of all things were thrown at Harriet, people sent heart pons through air kisses. All the while Grooves seemed to keep getting stronger and angrier.

At one point he pulled a knife! And it definitely wasn't rubber!

"Dad told me never to run with knives! You're breaking, like, the number one rule, buddy!"

Of course, Grooves didn't care.

"Time to bring out the big guns!"

The room went dark, and quiet. Too quiet. Casual piano music started to play, and Harriet began to sweat.

"Let's have a little heart-to-heart. Have a seat, darling."

Harriet hesitantly sits down.

"Ever since the explosion that happened, these timepieces have fallen from the sky. Now, I understand if you feel they belong to you, darling. I understand. But did you know they allow for rewinding time?" he questions.

"I did, actually," Harriet states bitterly. Grooves shrugs this off, showing off the hourglass in his flipper proudly. Harriet holds herself back from swiping it, considering he could have his knife on him still.

"With one timepiece, I could reclaim all the trophies that belong to me, darling. Every single trophy I've lost to the Conductor, where he has cheated his way to victory. I can't prove it, darling, but I'm certain the Conductor has been manipulating everything to make sure I never win! I need just one timepiece to fix years of cheating and fraud. Can't you spare me just one timepiece, darling Harriet?"

Harriet knew the answer immediately.

"No way, DJ Grooves! Give me the hourglass!" Harriet stands, holding out her hands, glaring at him.

"Darling, darling, darling. You're so persistently selfish. I've brought you to stardom, and all I ask in return is a single timepiece… but you won't share?" Grooves huffs, shoving the timepiece away in his pocket. "Well, darling, if you want this timepiece back so bad, come and get it!"

The table and chairs were swiped away, and Harriet felt something heavy get shoved onto her back. The lights turned back on, and Harriet gasps.

Did this dude put an actual bomb on a kid?!

"Remember this bomb, darling? I stole it from the Conductor's movie set, and now it'll be your demise!" Grooves laughs.

* * *

"I'm sorry you didn't win this year, grandpa. But there's always next year, right?" Duncan asks, an unsure smile on his face. Conductor sighs heavily, frankly exhausted, angry, and irritated.

"I suppose, lad. Let's just bring ye home before yer ma complains," Conductor huffs.

An earthquake rattles them however. Conductor holds his grandson in place.

"What was that?!" Duncan cries. Conductor then inhales sharply.

"The lass!"

"Harriet?! What do you mean?!"

Cheering that they didn't hear before gets louder than before, Harriet yelling. Conductor and Duncan sprint for the storage room, finding it decked out in Grooves' style decorations. Moon penguins jumped up and down, and…

"Isn't that the trains bomb?!" Duncan cries.

"Lass, over here!" Conductor yells. Harriet's eyes were full of tears, red faced. "Oh, hang in there! We'll find a way to defuse the bomb!"

The two run off out, frantically looking around in the boxes.

"Wait! Grandpa, wasn't there a very comically large pair of scissors you used once?"

"To cut the red ribbon for the first bird movie awards!" Conductor remembers. They run to grab it, both of them grunting as they run to carry it into the room once more.

"Harriet!" Duncan screams over the music.

"I only have ten seconds!"

"Our defuser is ready, come here!" Conductor announces. Harriet runs over, jumping up as the two cut the wire to the fuse. The bomb falls and only a harmless explosion occurs as a result.

Grooves yells in aggression, the band from the parade appearing. Only, with knives. Great.

Harriet runs around, hitting Grooves as much as she could when he got near.

Finally, the battle was over.

"I hate you, darling!" Grooves screams, before passing out. Harriet pulls out the timepiece, holding it protectively.

Duncan and Conductor run off the stands, running over to Harriet. Duncan hugs Harriet close, which she gladly returns, tears still in her eyes.

"I'll deal with DJ Peck neck. You two get out of here," Conductor orders. Duncan guides Harriet out, and soon they stand in the cool air in the parking lot.

"Harriet, you ok?" Duncan asks, putting his hands on her shoulders. Harriet nods, still clutching the timepiece.

"I really overestimate things sometimes, don't I?" she laughs sadly.

"It's ok. You're unharmed, and that's all that matters. Do you want me to bring you home?"

Harriet sniffles, wiping at her eyes.

"No, no. Your parents and sister are probably wondering where you are. I'll be ok, I promise."

Duncan and Harriet hug again, Harriet letting out a shaky breath.

"I'll be at your place tomorrow, ok? We can chill out or something."

Harriet nods.

"Yeah, that would be great."

* * *

Snatcher freezes up, seeing the condition Harriet's clothes were in. They were cut up from the near misses of the knives, not too much, but enough to be noticeable.

"Holy- Harriet, what happened?! Who did this to you?" Snatcher asks, rushing to her side, checking to see if there were any injuries.

"Papa, papa I'm fine. I fell into some brambles, and-"

"Harriet," Snatcher says immediately. "Who did this?" His voice wasn't the usual calm one, but now the more booming echo-like voice. The one he used to intimidate unsuspecting victims of his contracts.

"I... " Harriet closes her eyes and sighs. "There was a fight. Over this."

Harriet produces the timepiece. Snatcher's stomach drops. The worst was confirmed, right there in front of him. He already knew, yes, but there was still denial.

"I… I've been collecting these!" Harriet suddenly cries, tears falling from her eyes. She sobs into his shoulder, setting the timepiece down so it didn't break. Snatcher hugs her close, letting her cry it out. "I've kept it a secret for so long- but-but I don't know why! Please don't hate me!"

"H-Harriet, why would I hate you?" Snatcher questions, confused.

"You usually hate it when people lie to you! An-and-"

Snatcher cups her cheek comfortingly, wiping at her tears.

"Harriet, I'd never, ever hate you. Kiddo, it's ok to not tell me things sometimes until you're ready. I want you to know that you should be able to tell me anything. I know I'm… basically a scary, soul-stealing boogeyman, but I'm not heartless."

Harriet sniffles.

"I know. But I was… I was scared that if you knew, something would happen. I don't know what, but something."

Ah, the old keep them safe by keeping them blissfully ignorant. He knew that all too well…

"Harriet, I promise you, everything will be ok. Do you want me to bring you your dinner and read you a story tonight?"

Harriet nods slowly. Snatcher pats her off after snapping a handkerchief into existence.

"Snatcher, what in blue blazes happened?"

Snatcher turns to CC, her eyes wide.

"Our suspicions were confirmed. Harriet really is an alien. And she told me the truth."

CC's mouth parts, putting a paw on his side.

"What do we do now?"

"Not treat her any different. She's not a monster."

"Well, of course not! But…"

Snatcher sighs.

"Let's make her favorite, can we do that?"

CC smiles softly, her eyes crinkling.

"Of course. I have the ingredients for it. Cookies for dessert?"

Snatcher nods.

"Definitely."

Harriet sits down, wiping away her tears with her handkerchief. She pulls out her pajamas, putting them on and lying down in bed.

Suddenly, there was a loud CRASH, and beeping came out of the timepiece device.

Harriet sits up quickly, looking at the monitor. Six blips appeared on the radar, and Harriet gasps.

"Timepieces? In Subcon?" she questions. She looks outside, her eyes wide.

Tomorrow would be an adventure. She'd make sure of that.


	22. Subcon'd Out

Harriet had just finished breakfast when Snatcher pulled out a few contracts for her.

"Huh?"

"I saw the timepieces too. But I want you to do some things for me today. Every time you finish a task, I'll give you a timepiece. Sound fair?" Snatcher asks. Harriet sighs.

"If I have to." Harriet takes the feather pen. Most of them were simple, some of which she had done before. She began to sign them all.

Unclog the Subcon Well. Deliver mail to the Subconites. Take care of the fire spirits.

"Really? The spirits returned?" Harriet inquires, looking up at her father as she finishes up her milk.

"Mmm. They've been causing nothing but trouble since they've been here. There hasn't been a contractor here in a while, so I need your help."

"Alright! Just… Be careful around the timepieces, alright? They tend to make people go bonkers for some reason," Harriet explains, remembering the fight with Grooves not-so-fondly.

"I'll be fine. Go on!" Snatcher ushers Harriet out. Harriet pulls up her hood, rushing off towards the village.

The spirits dance around their bonfire. Every year, they would return despite being "burnt out", doing their ritual. It really did get annoying sometimes. Especially since their fire spreads to block out the rest of the forest.

"Harriet! Hey! Your dad told me I could find you here." Duncan waves, running up to his companion.

"Hey, Duncan!" Harriet greets kindly. They high-five.

"You alright from yesterday?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Healed up pretty quickly!"

A male scream could be heard, and the two turn to watch a Mafioso get sucked into a painting. Harriet rolls her eyes. She picks up the painting, holding it under her arm.

"That's seriously the norm with this?" Duncan questions.

"They lose all sense of self when in the painting. It's depressing, but there's no other way to get them out other than to sacrifice them to the spirits' fire."

Duncan nods slowly.

"We want to die! Yay!" a fire spirit cheers happily. Duncan pulls a face, looking with a perturbed look on his face. "We want to burn bright, and then burn out! Become a cloud of smoke! Our bonfire needs more fuel… only the finest paintings will do. Can you throw that one in?"

Harriet casually throws it in, and the fire spirit cries for "more."

"I'll gather those over there, you get the ones over here."

Duncan nods, and they split to gather the paintings together.

"Thank you!" the leader fire spirit thanks cheerfully as the last painting is thrown in, and all the spirits blow up in an explosion. The fire disappears as well. A timepiece floats at the entrance, left by one of the Subconites. The specific contract blows away like dust as it was completed.

"Come on! It's time for the well next!"

Harriet collects the timepiece, shoving it in her pocket as they run to the swamp. Harriet carefully guides Duncan through the deadly waters, taking a quick detour to extinguish another group of fire spirits.

"Here, Duncan! I found this dweller's mask the other day, much easier than using the bells." Harriet hands him a mascarade-like dweller's mask, and Duncan puts it on carefully. Harriet puts on the fox version mask she had made before. "Remember, do a hard blink and open your eyes wide!"

Duncan nods, and they both do it at the same time.

They rush up the green platforms before the masks lost energy.

"Hold on!" Harriet hooks her arm around his waist, making his feathers flush as they jump down. Harriet's umbrella opens, and they slowly descend down into the watery depths.

"Weee!" Harriet cheers, giggling. They land in the water, and they trudge out into the second part of it. "You can swim, right?"

"Kinda? It's hard to sometimes because of my feathers."

"That's alright! I won't let you drown."

"Wait-Harriet, what do you mean?"

"You'll see!"

The two kids go into a room, Duncan much more hesitant than Harriet. She opens up the secret trigger again, shooting at the hook. She pulls it down, and the cork lifts out of the hole. Immediately, water starts to spout out of nearby pipes. Duncan flinches back.

"Quickly!"

Harriet grabs his hand, shooting up to a lantern. They quickly traversed the well, dodging spiders and climbing up ladders. The water climbed higher and higher along the way, and Duncan felt himself get even more and more nervous.

Harriet picks up a cherry, running over to the nearby dweller. It makes the cherry turn into a bomb.

"You weren't kidding when you said the dwellers were explosive that one time…"

"Yep! I learned that the hard way." Harriet grins sheepishly. She throws the cherry into the ice, and a miniature earthquake began to happen.

"H-Harriet!"

"I know! Hold on!"

They cling to each other as the water shoots out at them. They scream, one in the thrill of it and the other in absolute fear. I'll give you three guesses as to which is which.

Harriet and Duncan spin in the water, Harriet laughing as the water slows to it's usual flow. A timepiece awaits them at the side, Harriet helping Duncan to the land.

"I told you nothing bad would happen!"

"Yeah, but now I'm soaked!" Duncan whines. Harriet collects the timepiece.

"Come on! We can go to the part of the forest that's on fire. It won't hurt us but it's still warm in there. We'll be dry in no time!" Harriet reassures, wringing out her ponytail. Duncan nods slowly, following her into said area.

She was correct. In no less than five minutes they were dry.

"Hey, what's got the dwellers all spooked?" Duncan asks, concerned as they enter the village. Harriet gasps, stumbling a bit as pipes shoot up, spewing purple liquid.

"The toilet!"

"The huh?"

"There's this outhouse, it occasionally gets possessed by angry spirits. But this hasn't happened since I was like, six!"

"Do you think a hourglass caused it?"

Harriet hums.

"Possibly… Come on!" Harriet runs over to the lab her dad had. It's where her Uncle MJ hung out the most too, when he was able to come down from the Horizon. "Hold on!"

They swing over the canyon, eyes blinking up at them owlishly. Whispers hung in the air, making Harriet pale.

"What are they saying?"

"I don't know, I never really liked this part of the forest. The eyes down there have always given me the creeps, and that's saying something."

Duncan frowns, trying to ignore the eyes below.

Harriet drops him off with the Subconite that was watching in fear.

"Harriet!" the Subconite greets.

"I'll take care of it!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah!" Harriet cries, vaulting over the wall.

"Be careful!" Duncan yells.

"Of course!" Harriet holds up her umbrella fearlessly.

The outhouse was leaping to and fro, wailing with a fearsome garble. Harriet charges, fighting the outhouse.

More Subconites joined the audience, cheering their niece on. Even Duncan was too, though he was much more worried than everyone else.

"Whoa!" Harriet got blown back, landing in roses as the Subconites began throwing flowers and flower petals. Harriet chuckles, feeling a heart pon land into her. She stretches, sheathing her umbrella for a moment to grab the cherry bomb that had fallen.

"Yeah, Harriet!" one Subconite exclaims as she hits the outhouse with every ounce of strength she had.

The battle was finally over, and Harriet pants, wiping sweat from her brow.

"Yeah!" the Subconites began vaulting over the wall, Duncan included. They jumped up and down around their niece, Duncan hugging her. Harriet hugs him back, grabbing the timepiece the outhouse produced afterwards.

"You did amazingly!" Duncan cheers, grinning. Harriet laughs. The Subconites begin to hug Harriet too, piling on one another. Harriet snorts, hugging them back to the best of her ability.

"Your dad would be so proud!"

"That was so cool!"

"Did you see how you whacked that outhouse with so much might?"

"Alright, alright, you guys better get back to your posts before my dad notices. Don't tell him about what I did, ok? I'll tell him eventually."

The Subconites nod, running off to their different posts in the forest. Duncan and Harriet share a high-five, grinning. They run to the tree, taking yet one more detour to deal with the last group of fire spirits.

They soon reach the big mushroom tree again, Snatcher waiting with his mail hat on.

"Dad! You still have that?" Harriet chuckles.

"Made by only the best, Hattie." Snatcher bows. Harriet beams. "Does the kid need a scooter too?" Snatcher hums, pulling out an extra scooter badge. Duncan nods, taking the badge from his claws. He pins it to his baseball cap.

"Time to deliver some mail!" Harriet proclaims.

They both summon the scooters, now with mailbags on them. They zoom off in different directions, throwing mail and packages to the eagerly awaiting Subconites.

Finally, after an hour, they were finished.

"Thanks, for helping me and Duncan, dad," Harriet thanks, Duncan giving him back the extra scooter badge. Snatcher nods. He then hums, turning to a part of the forest.

"You two stay out of trouble. There's a soul to catch." Snatcher grins wickedly before disappearing into a line of shadow.

Harriet pulls out the timepiece device, still seeing two blips.

"There must be a purple time rift somewhere nearby!" Harriet exclaims. They follow the radar deep into the forest, where the abandoned and broken houses were. Duncan clings to Harriet's side, wincing when he saw a headless statue.

"Harriet… Look."

Harriet looks up from her radar, her jaw dropping in awe.

Floating pieces of a time rift swirled around a strange structure, light pooling out from the inside.

"That must be from the rift…" Harriet whispers, wonder in her eyes. "You stay here, ok? Stay close to here, though. The statues aren't very.. Friendly, as you know."

Duncan nods, watching as Harriet struggles to climb up on to a shard of glass. Harriet sees the rift, glowing, almost taunting her to jump in. Harriet inhales, steadying herself.

"Be careful!" Duncan cries, seeing her wobble. Harriet only nods in reply.

She takes a large leap, shooting off the glass. Duncan yells, covering where his eyes would be.

Harriet feels her breath being taken away, her hand just barely brushing the time rift. That was enough at the very least, as she felt herself fall into another dimension.

"Oof!" Harriet groans. Knowing she had to find pictures, she gets up. It felt especially… chilly, with the air and the strange sleeping racoons. She collects a hidden picture, clutching it firmly as she continues on down the pipe.

After what felt like hours, she finally reaches the last stage, having collected eight blank pages so far. She yelps, dodging electricity that sparked from the strange creatures in the lab-like area.

"Where's the last one?" she questions, looking around. She spots a door, and runs over, looking down. Three large slabs of wood led down into an opening in the concrete, which she jumped down with ease. It was a dim room with only candles lighting it. She spots the picture and quickly collects it. She looks around the room again, seeing books by the candles.

She walks over, flipping through them. A lot of them had to do with stars and constellations, something her dad, and by extension, herself, were passionate about.

"Huh…" she mumbles. She climbs out of the room, quickly collecting a rift pon and going down the pipe.

She finishes whacking the rift itself, collecting the timepiece.

Once again the dark room she always knew grew in size, as the photographs flew out of her pocket and the pictures appeared. She grabs them quickly.

"The Tale of Queen Vanessa…?"

She flips through the first. She's never heard of a queen before.

A lady, with blonde hair, and with children… who looked like the dwellers and her aunts and uncles?

Harriet keeps flipping through, her eyes wide at each revelation.

Queen Vanessa, the blonde one she supposed, was a queen of what looked like an old Subcon, until one day she caught her lover-was he the king or a prince?-with a flower lady. The prince ran after her, but the queen began to change.

What came next after the knights and the tears of Vanessa, rocked Harriet to her core.

She drops the pictures, falling down on her bottom as tears build in her eyes.

She recognized those yellow eyes. The blue skin. All of it.

Tears pooled down her cheeks, but she barely noticed them.

The air. It was so cold.

So cold.

So cold.

It's freezing.

Ice began to grow around Harriet.

"Dad…"

* * *

 **WHEW ok**

 **Anyway, the fun is only beginning :)**

 **Thank you all for being patient with me!**

 **See ya!**


	23. The Grandfather Clock

Harriet opened her eyes to the outside world, the rift gone but the tears still flowing freely. She held the pictures so tight in her hands they started to crease.

"Harriet! Harriet!" Duncan cries. Harriet snaps out of her stupor, shoving the pictures in her pocket and wiping her tears away. "Are you alright?! What happened!"

"I'm ok! I'm ok!" Harriet yells, lying through her teeth. She pushes through the structure, sniffling. "Let's… Let's just find the last timepiece, please?"

Duncan nods slowly, worried and confused at her sudden change in mood. Harriet trudges instead of bounds, and Duncan slowly follows from behind. They take a quick moment to drop off the timepieces they had collected into the hidden cavern.

Harriet follows the tracker, letting herself be enveloped in the scavenger hunt. They finally stood in front of the broken bridge, a lone Subconite guarding the bridge.

"It's on the other side… we have to distract him."

"But didn't your dad say once that this place was explicitly off-limits?"

"Not today."

Harriet puts the tracker away, and puts on a brave face.

"Uncle!"

The Subconite snaps out of his daydream, turning to Harriet.

"One of the Subconites fell into the swamp! You need to go help them!"

"What?! Again!" he cries, worried about his friend. "You two stay here, I'll be back! Thanks for telling me," he states, rushing off towards the swamp.

"Come on."

They jump over the bridge with ease, shuddering as the temperature dropped significantly. They continued forward despite the chill and the snow.

They passed through an ice barrier, using their dweller masks to get through the more harder parts of the climb. Soon, they were on the other side.

"Wow…"

The area was completely encapsulated in ice. Only a bit of light from the top filtered through from the moon, giving only a sliver of sight. Harriet and Duncan trudge on, even as the snow begin to pile up to their knees.

There was a huge manor at the top of the hill, lightning flashing and thunder booming. Duncan grabs Harriet's arm in fear. Harriet stays brave, shaking the snow out of her boots before walking up to the door. She climbs up the small snow mound and tries to open it with all her might. However, it doesn't open.

"Shoot…" Harriet looks around, circling the porch with Duncan in tow.

"Did you see that?" Duncan suddenly asks, his voice gaining a fearful pitch.

"See what?"

"A shadow passed by the window, I swear! I think someone's inside."

Harriet "hms", climbing down the porch to the side of the house.

"A trick of the light, or someone very rude lives in there," Harriet slightly quips.

"It's not funny!"

"Duncan, it'll be ok, I promise. Maybe it's just a ghost! My dad's a ghost."

"That's different and you know it!"

Harriet sighs. They both flinch back, double doors to a cellar bursting open.

"Whoa!" Harriet holds out her umbrella to the door. But nothing came out. Duncan shakes, and not only because of the cold.

"We gotta leave!"

"Duncan, you can if you want. But I need that timepiece!"

Harriet inhales and exhales, and bravely runs down the steps.

"D-Don't leave me by myself! Harriet Katherine!" Duncan runs after her.

They reach the end into a cellar. It was full of some weird liquid, the walls painted with frost and ice. The two gulp, walking around. Harriet pulls out her dwellers mask, turning it on.

The outline of a man on the wall could be seen. Harriet holds back a scream.

That's her dad's corpse, wasn't it?

She had to gulp back the bile in her throat.

She switches for her top hat, clutching it for dear life as she puts her umbrella away into her hammerspace.

"Over here! There's a key."

Harriet runs over, going through the doorway. She jumps up and grabs the key, and Duncan follows her out. Harriet unlocks the double doors, and leaves the key behind as they walk up the steps.

They walk up to a foyer, the halls dark and very cold. So cold, white puffs of air fell from their lips.

"Jeez, no fire?" Duncan nervously jokes. They walk on, continuing their scary adventure.

"Is that a cat?" Harriet whispers nervously, seeing a rough patch captured in ice. Duncan clutches Harriet closer.

Lighting flashes, and thunder booms. The two scream.

" _ **Who's there?! Who dares enter my home?!**_ "

The two yell, running into a door nearby. Harriet slams it shut behind them, as they pant.

"Who?" Duncan gasps out. Harriet shushes him, hearing footsteps outside in the hall.

They tiptoe through the kitchen, finding cans and open boxes and a trashcan full of dirt and dead flowers. They reach the fridge, and out of curiosity, Harriet opens it.

Cookies, an expired carton of milk, and ice were the only things inside. But also, a large silver key. Harriet grabs it, and they walk into the room connected to the kitchen.

"Dad knows how to play piano…" Harriet mumbles, seeing the large grand piano. Bookshelves line the walls, along with pictures of the prince and Vanessa. A frozen dweller was in the corner of the room.

"Harriet, look!" Duncan whisper-shouts, pointing to a keyhole in the piano. Harriet unlocks it. The piano opens wide, revealing the keys.

"That book up there has a key in it… Maybe if we play this piano, the soundwaves will push the book down!"

Duncan nods.

"Alright."

Harriet hops on the bench, and then jumps on the keys.

" ** _I can hear you~_** "

The two gasp.

"Quickly! Under the piano! A-and hold your breath!"

The two rush under the piano, the two holding their breath.

Harriet in particular almost screams when she sees the owner of the home.

Vanessa. And by extension.

The Red-Eyed Lady of her dreams when she was younger.

 _'No, no, nononono-'_

The two hold on to each other for dear life, the shadowy woman looking around for the perpetrators who dared enter her home. The atmosphere felt so tense, their hearts pounding so quickly they were afraid she could hear them.

She growls, stepping away from the doorway.

They wait a minute, then shuffle out from the piano. Harriet holds up her hands, shaking.

"Harriet…" Duncan mumbles.

"We have to…"

Harriet closes her eyes tightly before slamming her hands down on the keys. The piano breaks, Harriet jumping back before she can get hurt.

" _ **Ohoho, I'm coming!**_ " Vanessa laughs. Harriet and Duncan run, Harriet swiping the key before bolting to the other room.

They find themselves in a pool room, with a bar, darts, and, well, a pool table. Harriet hurriedly unlocks the double doors to another set of stairs. They didn't even bother to look at the frozen statues.

They sprint into the first room they see after reaching the top, slamming the door behind them. Immediately, they could hear dainty but terrifying footfalls, Vanessa laughing maniacally.

" _ **Are we playing a game? You hide, and I'll seek.**_ "

The two catch their breath, tiptoeing through the room. Evidently, it was Vanessa's bedroom.

"There's a book up here." Duncan points to the leather-bound green diary. Harriet carefully pulls it down, finding a whole lot of pages missing.

The entries talked about Vanessa's obsession with her prince, and about how he had a female teacher when he went to law school.

No wonder why her dad knew how to make contracts.

"So?" Duncan questions.

"It's… melodramatic," Harriet puts the diary back.

They proceed to find more letters, including one Snatcher wrote himself when he was still a prince. It honestly made Harriet's heart break. Had things worked out, and Vanessa wasn't such an abusive freak, would Vanessa be her mother figure instead of CC? Would her dad and Vanessa be… normal humans?

Harriet felt she didn't want to find out.

They enter the room next to Vanessa's, finding a baby room. It was chilling, a horse rocking back and forth by itself and a train set that never stopped moving. There were more ice statues inside. It sent shivers down both their spines.

"There was a key on top of her bed… Maybe these balloons will nudge it down," Harriet hypothesizes. Duncan nods, and Harriet plucks one from the abandoned wrapped gift. Harriet runs over to the room, letting go of the balloon. Tantalizingly close, yet so far. The balloon pops on impact with the ceiling, making both of them freeze up.

" _ **Oh dear, I'm coming again!**_ "

The two run under the desk. Vanessa barges in, growling as she looks around the room. Once again, thankfully, she didn't spot them, and she left.

"We gotta do that again."

"Harriet, are you crazy?! This is so gonna get us killed!" Duncan cries quietly.

"We're almost through, I promise," Harriet comforts. She didn't want to be here, either, but the timepieces were important. They once again move to get a balloon, and once again, the balloon nudges the key, but doesn't move it well enough. They both groan, moving to get it again, only to flinch as they heard a loud noise.

"Harriet, look…"

Harriet looks up, going pale. A figure that looked similar to her smiled back in red ink-she hopes it was red ink-, holding her dweller's mask, in a painting that was certainly not there before.

"Good gods…" Harriet shudders. But she keeps on, opening the door.

Vanessa uses her magic to have the key trail after her, leaving a new frozen statue in her wake.

"Come on."

Harriet, courageously but stupidly, follows, Duncan reluctantly following behind. They finally reach the bathroom, steam pooling out under the door.

"Ready?" Harriet asks softly.

"No, but I won't ever be, so let's go," Duncan says earnestly. Harriet opens the door slowly, wincing as it creaks a little. But the shadow woman doesn't notice, too focused on her shadow. They tiptoe over to the toilet, flinching as Vanessa reaches for a towel.

"Now!" Harriet cries. Vanessa gasps, screaming as she sees them. Harriet snags the key, and they bolt out of the bathroom as she sprints after them.

Harriet and Duncan hold hands, running over to the attic doors. Before Vanessa could see where they went, they ran up the stairs after unlocking the door. They leap into the floor, panting roughly from the exercise.

"The hourglass is in the chest!" Harriet cries, getting up and pushing it open. The timepiece floats out, and Harriet grabs it.

"We gotta get out of here before she finds us!"

They run down the stairs again, Harriet pushing the timepiece into her pocket as they sprint down the corridors.

Until, of course, Harriet trips on a wrinkle in the carpet.

She yelps, face planting on the floor.

"Harriet!"

CHIME.

They're frozen. Absolutely frozen.

The grandfather clock chimes midnight, just as Vanessa stomps into view.

" ** _Found you!_** " she says in a singsong voice. The two quiver, staring at her.

Vanessa freezes, seeing Harriet for the first time.

Brown hair, blue eyes...

The grandfather clock keeps chiming, ding-donging the time change.

" ** _You look… Just. Like. Him!_** " a blood-curdling scream echoes from her lips.

* * *

"Boss! Boss!" a Subconite cries. Snatcher looks up from his book.

"What, what is it? Did the contractor fall in the swamp?"

"No!" the Subconite pants, lying his hands on his knees. "H-Harriet, a-and Du-Duncan," The Subconite pants, out of breath evidently.

"What?" Snatcher sits straighter, eyes wide.

"They… they tricked me… They're at… Th-They're at the manor."

Snatcher drops his book.

* * *

Duncan, in a moment of bravery and adrenaline, throws a nearby chair at the woman.

"Harriet! Run!"

Harriet and Duncan burst out of the front door, a full on blizzard rocking the small space. Vanessa screams and screams and screams, yelling at the headless statues to go after them. The two children run down the stairs, Vanessa on their heels.

Harriet puffs her scooter to life with her badge, and they zoom faster down through the snow. The headless statues are also running after them, which makes Harriet stomp on the gas pedal. Duncan clutches Harriet's waist like a lifeline, both of them looking back at the trio of monsters running after them.

When they got past a certain point, the ice began to grow back by itself, trapping Vanessa away yet again. Vanessa screams, which get farther and farther away as they zoom through the area.

They leap the gap, and lie on the stone of the broken bridge.

Once they stand, Duncan begins to cry.

"Duncan?"

"I'm going home!"

"W-"

"No! We almost died, Harriet! Died! You almost died, she was obsessed with you for some reason especially! I can't do this anymore," Duncan cries, running off.

"Duncan!"

Harriet begins to run after him, only to bump into the last person she wanted to.

" _Harriet. KATHERINE._ "

Harriet feels herself go cold. Her dad was in his human form, looking like he was going to tear something to pieces.

"What were you _thinking_?! I've told you all your life, _the manor is off limits_!"

"I had to-I had to-"

" **AN HOURGLASS IS MORE WORTH IT THAN YOUR OWN LIFE?** "

"Dad! You don't-"

"I understand alright! You're not doing this anymore! Understand me?!"

"Dad, dad I know you used to be the prince, you and possibly Uncle MJ-"

"How do you know that?" Snatcher flinches back. Harriet shakily shows him the pictures. Snatcher's hands shake as he snatches them away from her. The moment he saw Vanessa he burnt the pictures to ash.

"Dad!"

" **NO. MORE.** "

He swipes away her tracker, slamming it on the ground and stomping on it. It sparked and broke apart, crushed underfoot with the sheer strength behind his blind fury.

Harriet feels tears build in her eyes, as Snatcher's shoulders visibly move up and down from how much he was heaving from yelling and his anger.

He moves away as Harriet feebly takes the pieces of the tracker into her hands, tears falling down her cheeks. Snatcher falls back, eyes wide.

"Go to your room," he orders. " **GO!** "

Harriet holds back a sob, holding the pieces to her chest as she sprints off to her tree.

Snatcher heaves, his anger melting away to realization and a crippling sadness. He felt pale as he formed into his phantom self, eyes wide.

What had he done?

"Snatcher…? What happened?" CC questions softly, walking up the trail. Her eyes were wide, having only seen Harriet run off. "You're crying…"

Snatcher puts his claws to his cheek. Liquid was there, which never was. It had a yellow hue, trailing down his cheeks.

"I-I… I don't… I hurt her."

"You what?!"

"I-I smashed her tracker, I-I-"

Snatcher feels more tears fall down his cheeks.

"No, nononono."

He became smaller, falling to the ground. Dust circles him at impact, gritting his fangs together. CC gently puts her hand on his body, lips parted.

Harriet lies in her bed, crying and sobbing and shaking and felt so many different emotions swirl in her. The pieces lied on her floor, fat hot tears streaming down her face. She could barely breathe from how much she was crying. She clutches the timepiece she had gotten from the manor in her arms. She fell asleep not too long after.

It was all just beginning.


End file.
